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The Milimani Law Courts have sentenced city businessman Braxwell Wanjala Shiundu to a fine of KSh 150,000 or, in default, to serve one year in prison after being found guilty of obtaining money by false pretense.
The judgment, delivered on August 9, 2024, by Milimani Magistrate Benmark Ekhubi, concluded that the prosecution had proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Wanjala, the first accused, had indeed received money from the complainant under false pretenses.
Mr. Wanjala, a politician, was accused of fraudulently obtaining a sum of USD 100,000 (equivalent to KSh 10 million) from Dr. Ali Raza by falsely claiming that he could secure a diplomatic job for Dr. Raza as an ambassador to Kenya in Brazzaville, Congo. The offense was committed on various dates between May 2017 and March 2018 in Parklands, Nairobi.
The charge sheet detailed that “on diverse dates between May 2017 and March 2018 at Parklands in Nairobi, within Nairobi County, jointly with others not before the court, with intent to defraud, you obtained from Dr. Ali Raza a sum of USD 100,000, equivalent to KSh 10,000,000, by falsely pretending that you were in a position to secure a job as an ambassador to Kenya in Brazzaville, Congo, for the said Dr. Ali Raza,” a claim the court found to be false.
In his ruling, Magistrate Ekhubi acquitted Wanjala’s co-accused, his sister Susan Awino Wanjala, citing a lack of sufficient evidence presented by the prosecution to link her to the crime.
The judgment brings to a close a lengthy legal battle surrounding the case, with Mr. Wanjala now facing a significant financial penalty or potential imprisonment if he fails to pay the fine.
