The hearing of the KSh 102.6 million money laundering case against a Nairobi Technical Training Institute female student has been suspended after confusion emerged about her identity.
Felesta Nyamathira Njoroge grabbed headlines in late 2021 after it emerged that her account had been credited with the mouth-watering cash from her Belgian boyfriend named, Mesel De Marc.
The Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) would later apply for orders so as to be allowed to investigate the source of the cash in Njoroge’s Co-operative Bank account.
The 21-year-old college student returned to court to challenge the cash freeze suit. However, in the Wednesday, January 26, court session, Justice Maina was treated to confusion after two women claimed to be her.
During the hearing, two lawyers, Walter Owaga and Thomas Maosa appeared in court each claiming to have been instructed by Njoroge to fight the case. To make matters worse, the lawyers gave conflicting information about the whereabouts of their client.
Whereas Owaga said Njoroge left the country six months ago, Maosa said the lady has never travelled out of the country.
Consequently, Maina suspended the proceedings for 90 days. She directed the lawyers to surrender their client to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for identification of the real Njoroge.
In court papers in which the ARA sought orders to freeze Njoroge’s Co-operative Bank account, the court heard that the deposits were done between October 4, 2021, and October 6, 2021.
The student received KSh 25.8 million on August 4, 2021, a day before another deposit of KSh 25.8 million.
Two days later, bank statements showed Njoroge received KSh 25.2 million and KSh 25.5 million. Preliminary investigations revealed the said bank account had no cash prior to the fictitious transactions.
Source: Tuko