Senior Counsel Prof. Tom Ojienda will spend the weekend in police custody after he was arrested in connection with receiving money by false pretences from Mumias Sugar Company as legal fees, according to the Director of Public Prosecutions. Ojienda was arrested on Friday afternoon and taken to the DCI headquarters at Kiambu Rd. The arrest was approved by DPP Noordin Haji, who in a statement, said the DCI had constituted a team for investigations after reports emerged of financial misappropriation and fraudulent dealings that affected several sugar milling industries. “The inquiry file relates to allegations of use of fake court proceedings, numbers and parties spread across the county in different courts that were used by several legal service providers to obtain monies, as legal fees, from Mumias Sugar Company,” he said.
The statement further noted that about Kshs 89 million was paid out in the fraudulent schemes, and Ojienda was one of the advocates involved with the assitance of former officers of Mumias Sugar Company. Others who face criminal charges include former finance director Peter Kibati and former company secretary Emily Otieno. The DPP said there is sufficient evidence top support the charges and that it’s in the public interest to prosecute the suspects with offences which include; Obtaining money by false pretences contrary to section 313 of the Penal Code, Uttering false documents contrary to section 353 of the Penal Code, Abuse of office contrary to section 101 (1) of the Penal Code, and Conspiracy to defraud contrary to section 317 of the Penal Code.
