A Nairobi court has freed Patrick Katua Mutinda, accused of obtaining Ksh4,265,000 with intent to defraud by falsely pretending he was in a position to secure Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) slots for his village mates.

According to court papers, Katua, on diverse dates between November 6, 2025, and December 23, 2026, obtained the said amount from the director of the Tanathi Water Works Development Agency, Nicholas Wambua Muthangya.

Appearing before Milimani Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina on Monday, April 20, 2026, Katua denied the charge, and a plea of not guilty was entered.

The accused lawyer urged the court to grant his client a reasonable and affordable bail and bond, adding that he is not a flight risk and he has a fixed abode within Nairobi County.

“Your honour, I have instructions to make an application for affordable bail and bond. The accused is a businessman, and he has a fixed abode in Utawala; thus, he is not a flight risk,” the accused’s lawyer submitted to the court.

Further, the lawyer told the court that the complainant and the accused person hail from the same region, and they are known to each other as friends.

The court heard that the accused and the complainant are in communication and that some of the money has already been refunded to him (the complainant).

Magistrate Onyina freed Katua on a bond of Ksh700,000 with an alternative of paying a cash bail of Ksh400,000.

“The accused is hereby released on a Ksh700,000 bond with an alternative of a cash bail of Ksh400,000 with one contact person. The case is allocated to court number four,” Magistrate Onyina ruled.

According to the court papers, director Wambua states that they reached an agreement with Anthony Muthangya and Katua to channel Ksh220,000 for each person interested in joining KDF.

He later informed his kin to prepare for the recruitment by mobilising the Ksh220,000 money, which was shared with him for him to transfer to Anthony and Katua.

In the court papers, the director reveals that he later transferred Ksh400,000 through his MPESA to one suspect, namely Antony Muthangya’s family bank account.

The director states that he also, on the diverse dates between November 11, 2025, and January 6, 2026, transferred from his equity bank account to Katua’s M-Pesa account a total of Ksh 4,154,000.

The matter will be mentioned on April 28, 2026, for pre-trial.