The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has been called in to unravel the mystery of the whereabouts of the university student, Felista Njoroge, who was gifted Ksh102 million by her Belgian boyfriend, Merc De Mesel.
This is after two lawyers presented conflicting statements before Justice Esther Maina on her whereabouts.
Lawyer Walter Omanga stated that the student left the country six months ago and has never returned since. He added that the 21-year-old girl had instructed him to oppose the application by Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) to have the funds to be surrendered to the state.
“It is unfortunate we find ourselves in this situation. The real Felista is out of the country and is heavily pregnant and she is due to give birth. We can present documents to support our position. We can present her to ARA depending on the medical advice and upon traveling back to the country,” Omanga stated.
However, his statement was opposed by another lawyer, Thomas Maosa, who informed the court that Felista has never left the country as she is heavily pregnant. He added that she had instructed him, alongside lawyer PLO Lumumba, to oppose the ARA case on her behalf.
Seeking to make his claims legitimate, lawyer Maosa noted that they had documents to back their statements and affirmed to the court that they had presented Felista to ARA previously but the agency opted not to take her statement. He claimed that he could present her to the agency if need be.
“We presented Felista to ARA but they opted not to take her statement. She is not out of the country. We are ready to present her again,” Maosa noted.
While reviewing the presentations made in court, Justice Maina, ordered the DCI to help unravel the the mystery of the whereabouts of the campus student.
The judge added that the case would be suspended for 90 days and will come up for mention on May 16.
The money, suspected to be proceeds of money laundering, was initially frozen by the Anti-Corruption Court to establish its source.
This was after ARA filed an application seeking to block the university student from withdrawing the funds.
"An order is hereby issued prohibiting the respondent (Njoroge), her employees, agents, servants or any other persons acting on their behalf from transacting, withdrawing, transferring, and, or dealing in any manner in respect of any profits or benefits derived or accrued from the funds," read part of the judgment.
