Nairobi Court Rejects Bid to Stall Ksh 10.5M Theft Case, Orders Hearing to Proceed
"Applying the withdrawal of the matter at this stage is not fair since the accused had taken a plea after the same office approved the charges. There is no damage to have criminal and commercial proceedings happening at the same time," the Magistrate said.
A Nairobi court has ruled that a criminal matter involving allegations of stealing Ksh 10.5 million proceed with the hearing, despite the prosecution’s application to transfer the case to the Commercial Division.
Sitting at Milimani law courts, Principal Magistrate Paul Mutai, in his ruling, stated that “the law allows a criminal matter and a commercial matter to run parallel, hence I am not convinced to withdraw the matter.”
The Magistrate also stated that during the decision to withdraw the criminal charges against Shailesh Kumar Rai, Ranjeeta Pandey Rai, Isaack Ikua, Chris Oyunge, and Rosalia Blooms Limited, the complainant was not involved.
“The prosecution has the right to charge or terminate any criminal matter under the Constitution, but they must do so after the consent of the court. Deciding to withdraw a criminal charge, failing to inform the complainant, was a mess up,” the Magistrate stated.
With that regard, he added that the DPP made the victim in the matter a spectator, an action that would demean the scales of justice for both parties.
The court also noted that the accused persons were charged on July 28, 2023, following the Director of Public Prosecutions’ consent to charge them in a criminal court, and the hearing commenced, with two witnesses having already testified.
“Applying the withdrawal of the matter at this stage is not fair since the accused had taken a plea after the same office approved the charges. There is no damage to have criminal and commercial proceedings happening at the same time,” the Magistrate said.
When the prosecution applied for the matter to be withdrawn through a letter dated June 19, 2025, the complainant, through his advocate, objected to the decision and filed an application urging the court to dismiss the plea.
The court directed that the matter proceed on February 12, 2026.
The five were charged with nine counts of conspiracy to defraud, theft by servants, money laundering, and a series of forgery offenses.
They were charged with conspiracy to defraud to the tune of Ksh 10,520,990 on various dates between September 2021 and August 2022 within Nairobi County, Republic of Kenya.
The said money is the property of Heritage Flowers Limited.
The court heard that the second accused person, Ranjeeta Pandey Rai, is the director of the company and the wife of the second accused, Shailesh Kumar Rai, who failed to appear before the court on Friday for plea taking.
The accused persons also faced a series of forgery charges.
Shailesh Kumar Rai and Ranjeeta Pandey Rai forged the virtual minutes of the Board of Directors of Rosalia Blooms Limited, dated February 19, 2022. They purported them to be genuine documents signed on the said date.
The accused further jointly forged a trust deed between Rosalia Blooms Limited as a trustee and Heritage Flowers Limited as a beneficiary, purporting it to be a genuine document signed on September 26, 2021.
The hearing is scheduled to proceed on February 12, 2026.
