The hearing of a case in which Ekeza Sacco boss David Ngari
was charged with theft of Sh1.2 billion belonging to members resumes for
hearing at the Chief Magistrate’s court in Milimani, Nairobi.
Ngari faces charges of conspiracy to commit a felony and 12 counts of obtaining money by false pretense, stemming from allegations that he and Ekeza Sacco misled members into investing over Sh1 billion in real estate and money markets.
During the last hearing in August, the court heard that more than Sh1 billion was transferred from Ekeza Sacco to Gakuyo Real Estate, a company linked to the Sacco’s founder, David Ngari, also known as Gakuyo.
Testifying before senior principal magistrate Ben Mark Ekhubi, inquiry officer Stephen Njoroge, who was appointed by the Commissioner for Cooperatives to investigate Ekeza’s operations, said his audit revealed significant fund movements from member contributions to private entities associated with Ngari.
Njoroge told the court that, despite being the founder, Ngari made no personal financial contributions to the Sacco, yet funds were directed to entities linked to him.
“According to our findings, a total of Sh1,052,746,094 was channeled either to Gakuyo Real Estate, its legal advocates, or used to support other activities, including church-related operations,” said Njoroge during cross-examination.
He maintained that Ekeza Sacco did not adhere to standard cooperative governance practices.
However, the defence team disputed several aspects of the audit and inquiry report, questioning its accuracy and completeness.
Ngari’s lawyers argued that the officer had not presented evidence to prove their client had never contributed to the Sacco.
“If you don’t have records of all member contributions, how can you affirm that he saved nothing?” a defense lawyer asked.
In response, Njoroge said he relied on available data and stood by the inquiry’s findings.
“For the purpose of our report, we established that David Kariuki Ngari owned Gakuyo Real Estate, which we attributed to him,” he said.
Elsewhere in the High Court, Justice Lucy Njuguna will today give directions in a case where the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has sued Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi, seeking to recover Sh813 million over alleged involvement in graft.
EACC accused Wamatangi of having abused his position when he served as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Roads, Transport, and Housing with the agency claiming he use that position to influence the award of road construction tenders to companies associated with him.
And at the Kibera High Court, the case facing Sarah Wairimu over the murder of Dutch tycoon Tob Cohen is coming up for mention with Justice Diana Kavedza expected to issue new directions.
