Development Bank of Kenya chairman Michael Moragia Nyachae has been dragged into a criminal case over allegations that he stole Sh1.2 million from a family-linked company, opening a new chapter in an increasingly bitter dispute over the management of the Nyachae business empire.
Michael Moragia Nyachae, the 62-year-old son of the late former Cabinet minister and businessman Simeon Nyachae, appeared before the Milimani Law Courts on Friday and denied stealing Sh1,226,036 belonging to Sansora Group Limited.
The charge relates to alleged theft committed on diverse dates between March 28, 2019 and September 28, 2021 in Kisii County.
Prosecutors have charged Nyachae under Section 268(1), as read with Section 275 of the Penal Code, provisions covering the offence of stealing.
The criminal case puts a prominent figure in Kenya’s banking and corporate establishment at the centre of a financial dispute involving a company associated with his family.
Nyachae is the chairman of Development Bank of Kenya and the brother of former East African Court of Justice judge Charles Nyachae.
He was arrested on Thursday at Chepilat in Bomet County after investigators pursued the case for about three years. He was subsequently held at Kileleshwa Police Station in Nairobi before being taken to court.
The prosecution followed a decision by Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga to approve the theft charge after reviewing an investigation file arising from a complaint by Sansora Group Limited.
The case, however, could become considerably bigger.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations had recommended that Nyachae face additional charges, including money laundering and offences relating to forgery.
The DPP declined to immediately approve those additional charges, instead directing investigators to undertake further work.
In his response to the investigators, Ingonga said there were gaps that needed to be addressed before charges under the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act and forgery laws could be instituted.
That means the Sh1.2 million theft charge is, for now, the only criminal count facing Nyachae, while the more serious financial-crime allegations remain subject to further investigation.
In court, Nyachae pleaded not guilty.
His lawyers urged the magistrate to release him on bail, arguing that he was not a flight risk and pointing to his family background and circumstances surrounding the dispute.
The prosecution did not oppose his release.
Principal Magistrate Caroline Nyaguthii granted Nyachae a Sh200,000 bond with a similar surety or an alternative cash bail of Sh50,000. The court also directed that the defence be supplied with the charge sheet, witness statements and other relevant documents.
The case will be mentioned on September 29, 2026 for pre-trial directions.
But the criminal proceedings are unfolding against the backdrop of a much wider battle over the Nyachae family’s corporate interests.
In February 2026, the High Court allowed shareholders connected to companies in the Nyachae business network to pursue a derivative action against Nyachae and fellow director Jamaludin Shamsudin Alibhai Rajwani over the alleged sale of a prime property in Kisii.
The property was allegedly sold for Sh8 million in May 2021, despite claims by shareholders that its market value exceeded Sh35 million.
Justice Freda Mugambi allowed the shareholders to proceed with the case on behalf of Sansora Bakers & Confectioneries Limited and its parent company, Sansora Investments Ltd.
The shareholders alleged that the property transaction was irregular, lacked transparency and significantly undervalued the asset.
They further claimed that the directors had treated the companies as personal enterprises while sidelining other shareholders from important corporate decisions.
The disputed property was allegedly transferred to Pine Tree Real Estate LLP, an entity the shareholders linked to Rajwani’s family.
The High Court ordered the production of documents relating to the transaction, including the sale agreement, transfer documents, evidence showing receipt of the purchase price, company accounts, bank statements and audited financial records. The court also barred further dealings with the property pending determination of the dispute.
The corporate fight is not entirely new.
A separate 2025 High Court ruling shows that Michael Moragia Nyachae himself had previously appeared in litigation involving the Nyachae family’s corporate interests. In that case, he sued as attorney for Martha Mwango Nyachae, with Sansora Group Limited, Sansora Investments Limited and Sansora Bakery Limited among the interested parties. The court found that the matter raised triable issues and declined to strike out the suit.
The latest criminal prosecution therefore comes at a particularly sensitive moment for the family businesses.
The alleged theft covers a period that overlaps with the broader corporate disputes over Sansora and its assets. The property dispute, for instance, centres on a transaction allegedly conducted in May 2021, falling within the period specified in the new criminal charge.
However, the two cases should not be treated as the same matter. The criminal prosecution concerns an alleged Sh1,226,036 theft, while the High Court proceedings concern corporate governance and the disputed sale of property.
For now, Nyachae remains presumed innocent unless and until the criminal case is proved against him in court.
The next major test will come on September 29, when prosecutors and the defence return to court for pre-trial directions.
The proceedings could also determine whether the DCI’s recommended money-laundering and forgery allegations eventually become formal charges, or whether the evidentiary gaps identified by the DPP prove too difficult to close.
What began as a dispute over a relatively modest Sh1.2 million has consequently opened a much wider window into the increasingly contested affairs of one of Kenya’s best-known business families.
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