Nyama Mama directors cleared as court drops Sh520m fraud case
Entrance to the popular Nairobi restaurant franchise Nyama Mama.
Directors of Nyama Mama Restaurant are now free after a Nairobi court withdrew criminal charges against them.
Ms Ninaa Shanghavi and her spouse Jayesh Shanghavi were charged in 2021 with obtaining a loan of Sh520 million from Victoria Commercial Bank, without registering the security.
Nyama Mama restaurant director Nina Jayesh Shanghavi at a Nairobi court on December 21, 2021
Milimani magistrate Wandia Nyamu withdrew the case following an application by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Renson Ingonga, who said a review of the evidence revealed that the matter would be best resolved in a civil case.
The court was informed that the charges stemmed from purely commercial transactions between the couple and the lender.
The couple through lawyer Jackson Awele maintained that they did not obtain the money by false pretense, and had not intended to defraud the bank by charging their property on General Mathenge Road to the loan.
The charges stated that the restaurateur and their company Good Earth (Group) ltd induced the lender to execute a charge over an apartment in Nairobi to secure a loan of Sh520 million.
They allegedly committed the offence between December 10, 2018 and November 23, 2020. Good Earth Ltd is the company behind Nyama Mama, Blue Door, Yao and Deli and Bakery.
Evidence filed in court showed that the couple who are directors of Good Earth Group, entered into an agreement with Victoria Bank and began borrowing since 2015 and continued to acquire more loans from the bank up until November 2020.
Earlier efforts by the couple to terminate the charges were declined as the DPP maintained that a review of the file showed that the evidence on record was sufficient to sustain the charge
