A Standard Chartered Bank official has struggled to explain in court how a fraudulent account was opened and operated by a third party masquerading as a company account without proper due diligence.
The account was allegedly opened using the identity card of Nancy Nanjira Odhungo, 34, whom the court heard is of unsound mind and therefore incapable of independently operating a bank account.
The bank official, Amos Wambua, admitted before the court that the account in question was opened as a personal account and not for company transactions as had earlier been claimed.
Testifying before Milimani Principal Magistrate Paul Mutai, Wambua said no company resolution was presented at the time the account was opened.
“The account in the name of Nancy Nanjira Odhungo was opened as a personal account and not for company transactions,” he told the court.
The revelation emerged during cross-examination by defence lawyer Lewis Kanyoko in a case in which Brian Reeve Obare is accused of obtaining millions of shillings by false pretences.
Kanyoko produced a psychiatric report from Nakuru County Referral and Teaching Hospital dated March 10, 2026, detailing Odhungo’s mental condition and raising questions about how she could have opened and operated the account.
According to the report, signed by Dr Wafula, Odhungo was examined in 2016 and again in December 2024, with the doctor confirming that her condition remained unchanged.
“Nancy Nanjira has an active schizoaffective disorder that is poorly managed. Therefore, she is not fit to testify in her current state and is advised to resume antipsychotic medication to suppress the symptoms,” the report states.
The defence lawyer argued that the account may have been opened by another individual using Odhungo’s identity card. He told the court that the email address and telephone number linked to the account belonged to one of the directors of Golden Key Company, the firm that claims to have been defrauded.
“The alleged owner of the account is said to be of unsound mind. How could she have opened an account without disclosing that information? There is a possibility that another person impersonated her and presented suspicious documents to open the account,” Kanyoko submitted.
The lawyer further argued that the circumstances surrounding the account raise doubts about the complainant’s banking records.
He contended that Golden Key Company lacks a bank account that would substantiate its claim of being the complainant in a case where it alleges it lost more than Sh50 million in a Canadian visa scam.
The matter is set to continue as the court examines the circumstances under which the account was opened and operated.
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