The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has secured the conviction of the mastermind behind a fraudulent tantalum minerals scheme that defrauded a Chinese investor of Ksh151 million.
In a statement on Thursday, July 2, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) said the conviction was delivered at the Milimani Law Courts, where the accused was found guilty of obtaining money by false pretences in a case involving fake mineral consignments.
"In a judgment delivered at the Milimani Law Courts, Lumumba Ulundu Patrick, a Congolese national, also known as Gabriel Kulonda and Lumumba Patrick, was convicted of obtaining money by false pretences contrary to Section 313 of the Penal Code," the statement read.
According to the ODPP, the court also imposed a sentence and ordered compensation for the victim who lost millions in the fraudulent scheme.
"The court sentenced him to three years' imprisonment or, in the alternative, pay a fine of Ksh10 million. The court also ordered him to refund the victim the Ksh151 million lost through the fraud," the statement added.
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The prosecution explained how the scheme was carried out, stating that the accused misrepresented ordinary materials as valuable minerals.
"Prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Lumumba orchestrated an elaborate scheme in which containers filled with sand were falsely presented as consignments of tantalum, a high-value mineral widely used in the manufacture of electronic components," the statement further read.
According to the evidence presented, the fraud was uncovered after one of the shipments was inspected abroad.
"The fraud came to light after one of the containers was opened overseas and discovered to contain drums of sand instead of the declared mineral, resulting in substantial financial losses to the investor," the statement noted.
The ODPP further revealed details surrounding the suspect's arrest and how investigators tracked him down.
"Evidence presented in court further showed that Lumumba was arrested by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations' (DCI) Operations Support Unit (OSU) on 5th April 2024, shortly after arriving in Nairobi from Entebbe, Uganda," the statement indicated.
The ODPP also said the accused had allegedly tried to evade detection despite restrictions placed on his travel documents.
"Investigations established that he had attempted to re-enter the country using alternative identification documents and multiple aliases despite a stop order having been placed on one of his travel documents," the statement concluded.
This comes weeks after Principal Magistrate Caroline Wattimah, at a court in Eldoret, sentenced a man to life in prison for defiling an 11-year-old girl.
Wattimah delivered the sentence after the man was found guilty by the court for committing the atrocities against the minor in her own mother's bed.
The suspect was allegedly dating the victim's mother at the time.
During the case proceedings, the victim narrated to the court the events that took place in Turbo Sub-County.
The prosecution pleaded with the Court to declare the suspect a dangerous sexual offender, a request which it concurred with.
Principle Magistrate Wattimah further directed that the victim be accorded medical treatment and psychological support as requested by the prosecution..
