David Mbungua in the dock at the Makadara Law Courts
By Gabriel Somba
A businessman who incurred a bill of Sh210,550 after living large at the Kasarani Sports View Hotel for one month on the invitation of a friend is facing charges of obtaining credit by pretence after the host, a politician, failed to settle the bill.
David Mbugua is accused of obtaining credit by pretence contrary to section 316 (a) of the Penal Code after incurring the debts while falsely pretending he could clear the said bill upon conclusion of his stay at the hotel. The suspect incurred the bill between April 6 and May 14 2021.
The accused person had stayed at the hotel while “working on big projects” but was unable to pay the debts. He was working for a politician and a former wheeler-dealer who were to get infrastructure projects from the government.
The hotel’s management later learnt that Mbugua had left the hotel, leaving behind his personal belongings. The hotel management reported the incident at the Kasarani Police station vide Occurrence Book number 64/16/05/2021.
Mbugua was later arrested at the Kenya–Tanzania border by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) more than four years later and was collected by officers from Kasarani police station.
He was later arraigned at the Makadara law courts where he denied the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Paul Rotich where he denied the charges. He was released on a cash bail of Sh50,000.
Mbugua told the court through an advocate that he was not defrauding the hotel, as the bill was to be paid by the politician who is now deceased. Hearing of the case will start in January next year.
