A five-year wait for justice in the Sh320 million fake Defence ministry tender scandal finally began to bear fruit on Tuesday as two key witnesses unraveled what prosecutors described as a calculated, well-oiled fraud machinery allegedly run by city politician Francis Mureithi Wambugu and his co-accused, businessman Francis Mwaura.
The case was filed in 2020 by Haile Menkerios, a retired United Nations Special Representative to the AU, who told detectives he was lured into believing he would secure a lucrative food supply contract at the Department of Defence. But instead of a legitimate deal, prosecutors say he walked straight into a meticulously staged con.
Testifying before Milimani Magistrate Robinson Ondieki, Ethiopian businesswoman Abbay Abeba recounted how the accused men allegedly duped her into pumping more than USD 200,000 into what she believed was a genuine Defence ministry supply deal. She said the pair introduced themselves as directors of a company linked to military procurement and came highly recommended by an associate identified as Hussein Osman.
Abbay told the court she advanced the money in cash and via bank transfers, channeling some of it through her lawyer for the supposed supply of Seramix to the DoD. She said they signed documents acknowledging the deal, which she plans to present in court when required. None of the promised supplies were delivered. The money, she said, vanished with the two men.
The second witness, lawyer Julius Rotich, said he realised he had been unknowingly drawn into a fraud scheme only after detectives summoned him to Parklands in July 2020. Rotich testified that the officers presented him with several memoranda of understanding he had drafted for Mwaura under the assumption that Doc Find Ltd — the company linked to Mureithi — had already secured a Defence ministry contract.
He said the MoUs, dated April 27, 2016, detailed plans for the supply of foodstuffs to the Department of Defence and involved Doc Find Ltd as well as other companies, including Wina Trading Ltd. “The impression created was that the tender existed. I prepared the documents strictly on instructions,” Rotich told the court.
Investigators say Doc Find Ltd, together with a network of associated firms — Wina Trading Ltd, New Research Path Company, Hammond Agencies and Sembel Trading — received Sh320 million from Menkerios over several months. The payments were made between April 29 and November 3, 2016, under the belief that he was financing upfront supplies for the Defence ministry.
Instead, prosecutors argue, the companies were shells used to siphon the funds.
The case resumes next week and will run for three consecutive days from December 15 to 17, as the prosecution prepares to call more witnesses expected to shed further light on one of the most audacious fraud schemes tied to the country’s security sector.
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