Three accused Jane Wangechi, Eric Karugu and Benjamin Karugu appear in Milimani court/SCREENGRABTwo sons of former Moi-era Attorney General James Karugu were on Tuesday charged after appearing in court to face multiple charges related to an alleged fraudulent transfer of company shares.
The suspects — Jane Wangechi, Eric Karugu and Benjamin Karugu — upon appearing, were charged with conspiracy to defraud, forgery, uttering false documents and giving false information to a person employed in the public service.
They pleaded not guilty to the counts.
The court granted each of the accused a bond of Sh1.5 million with two sureties of a similar amount or, alternatively, a cash bail of Sh700,000.
They were also ordered to deposit their passports in court pending the hearing and determination of the case.
A request by the defence to defer plea taking was declined, with the court directing that the matter proceed and setting January 20, 2026, as the pretrial date.
According to the charge sheet, the three are accused of conspiring to defraud Victoria Nyambura Karugu of her shares in Mathara Holding Limited.
"That on or about May 2, 2012, at an unknown place in the Republic of Kenya, jointly conspired to defraud Victoria Nyambura Karugu of her shares by transferring one ordinary share from Mathara Holding Limited to Centurion Holding Limited," the charge sheet reads.
Notably, their sister, Victoria Nyambura Karugu, is listed as the complainant in the case.
The prosecution intends to call several witnesses, including the complainant, a document examiner, investigating officer Peter Ouma, and other witnesses yet to be disclosed.
The accused face additional counts of forgery and uttering false documents, with the prosecution alleging that they knowingly presented documents containing false information.
The matter has its roots in earlier proceedings that stalled after the suspects failed to appear in court despite having been summoned by investigators.
On December 9, the prosecution told the court that the accused persons had been duly served with summons but were absent when the matter came up for plea taking.
Senior Principal Magistrate Dolphina Alego subsequently issued court summons to compel their attendance, clarifying that the orders were not warrants of arrest.
The matter was then scheduled for mention to confirm compliance.
During earlier appearances, defence counsel had attributed the absence of two of the accused to medical reasons, stating one had been diagnosed with Covid-19 and bronchitis while another had been admitted to hospital with hypertension.
However, the prosecution disputed the medical claims, arguing that the documents provided did not disclose the nature or seriousness of the alleged illnesses.
The prosecution sought verification of the documents by the investigating officer.
The court allowed additional time for verification before directing that the suspects appear.
On Tuesday, with all three present in court, the magistrate declined to further delay the proceedings and proceeded to issue bond terms.
The complainant is represented by lawyer Philip Murgor.
The case will be mentioned on January 20, 2026, for pretrial directions.
