Patel Dinesh in the dock at the Makadara Law Courts. Photo/Gabriel Somba

By Gabriel Somba

A conman who defrauded a businessman of Sh853,000 while falsely claiming to be among the owners of manufacturing conglomerate Tuffsteel Limited – and in a position to sell him cement and other building materials has told a Nairobi court to jail him because he can’t pay the money.

Patel Dinesh pleaded guilty to charges of obtaining the money by fretenses contrary to section 313 of the Penal Code when he appeared before Senior Resident Magistrate Staphannie Bett of Makadara Law Courts in Nairobi. He admitted that he is a fraudster and intentionally defrauded Kalerwa, adding that he’s not able to refund the money.

Ms Bett was contemplating releasing Dinesh on bail and bond so that he could refund the money and have the matter withdrawn, but he chose jail.

Dinesh committed the offence at the Imaara Mall along Mombasa Road in Embakasi South Sub-County on July 27, 2025.

The fraudster’s accomplice had taken Kalerwa for a walk into Tuffsteel Limited premises next to the mall, where the complainant was shown cement bags and told they had all the building materials, pretending to be among the company’s owners.

Dinesh had promised Kalerwa cement at cheaper prices. He was promising to sell the complainant 1,120 cement bags at Sh560 each, totalling Sh627,200 and the other amount for drums.

Kalerwa gave the money to Dinesh’s accomplice, whom he had sent to receive the cash.

The complainant had travelled from Congo, where he does business, to meet Dines,h who had promised cheap building materials,ls including cement.

The individuals who had been sent by Dinesh received the money after claiming they were going to deposit the same into a bank, and stopped picking up calls from Kalerwa.

Kalerwa, who sells cement and other construction materials in Cong,o reported the matter at Villa Police Station, on Vide Occurrence Book number 44/29/07/2025. Kalerwa never received anything after “making the payment”.

Kalerwa coincidentally met with Dinesh in the streets of Nairobi on October 11 and arrested him with the help of the members of the pub,lic and the suspect was taken to Villa police station in Embakasi South.

Dinesh was remanded at the Nairobi Area Remand and Allocation Prison until October 17 when the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) will table evidence against him before he is convicted and sentenced.