Kevin Obia alias Kevin Kaleigh has been imprisoned for one year in a fake gold scam case as his accomplice Jared Otieno remains missing.
Obia who poses as a Nigerian within Kilimani Estate was found guilty of attempting to defraud an Austrian identified as Christian Gallati Sh13.7 million while pretending that he was in a position to sell him 7kg of gold.
Francis Andayi who is the trial Magistrate in the case also gave the suspect an option of paying a Ksh300,000 fine.
On May 1, 2015, Obia was found guilty of obtaining Sh13.7 million at the Hilton Hotel in the city.
“Jared Otieno is still at large and the police have failed to arrest him,” Magistrate Andayi said.
Andayi described Otieno as the bigger person behind the scam.
It has emerged that Otieno is still at large and his whereabouts are known.
The Magistrate also rules that Gallati was equally in the wrong as he was engaging in gold business without permits.
For one to engage in gold business they need a certificate and licenses.
Andayi also gave orders that the exhibits which include fake gold bars be destroyed by detectives who have been handling the case.
On February 15, 2021- the court ruled that Obia had a case to answer in the fake gold deal.
At the time the Magistrate said the prosecution had proved a prime facie case against the accused person.
Obia was nabbed by detectives drawn from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) who laid an ambush in the hotel as he collected the money.
However, in an affidavit, Obia said that he had gone to the hotel to meet with a friend of his who works as a DJ in South Africa.
According to him, the DJ was scheduled to conduct a show within the city.
He said while in the hotel some people approached where he was seated greeted him before they left. Then another group approached him and started questioning his relationship with the first person who greeted him.
He was later taken to the Central police station for interrogation.
Obia is not new to controversy, in 2018 he was arrested and arraigned for threatening to shoot dead a foreigner.
He is also known to lead a lavish lifestyle and has been carrying out expensive parties in several clubs across the city.
