Manyora charged with obtaining Ksh516k from Josephine Luceno
By Zipporah Ngwatu, March 25, 2026Professor Harman Bond Manyora has been charged before a Nairobi court with cheating contrary to section 315 of the Penal Code, Chapter 63, Laws of Kenya.
According to the charge sheet, Manyora is accused of obtaining money from one Josephine Luceno Kavulani as a token to facilitate the award of a tender to her company by the name of Sipho Construction Limited.
The Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) states that Manyora received the Ksh516,000 from Josephine between August 15, 2024, and October 30, 2024, monies she would not have paid him.
“Between August 15, 2024, and October 30, 2024, in Nairobi County within the Republic of Kenya, by use of fraudulent tricks, you obtained Ksh516,000 from Josephine Luceno Kavulani as a price to facilitate the award of the tender number TNH/ITB/016/Engineering at Nairobi Hospital to her company, namely Sipho Construction Limited, which monies she would not have paid to you were it not for the fraudulent tricks,” the charge sheet reads.
Appearing before Milimani Principal Magistrate Paul Mutai on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, Manyora denied the charge, and a plea of not guilty has been entered.
His legal team, led by Senior Counsel Nelson Havi, urged the court to free him on a personal bond pending the hearing and determination of the matter.
Further, Havi told me that the accused person is not a flight risk, noting that he has a known fixed abode.
“Your honour, we humbly request that the accused person be released on a personal bond to be signed by him, the amount to be set out by the court,” Senior Counsel Havi told the court.
“Your honour, the accused person is a well-known public figure; he is a professor of literature and English at the University of Nairobi, and he has a known abode here in Nairobi.
Havi also told the court that the professor has been religiously attending summons by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
He noted that by doing so, it is proof that he is not a person who can fail to honour court directives as far as the terms of his appearance and attendance at the court are concerned.
The prosecution did not object to the court granting Manyora a bond as prayed for by his legal team.
The court has released him on a personal bond of Ksh2 million.
“I note the accused was released on a free police bond; consequently, I will release the accused person on a personal bond of Ksh2 million,” Magistrate Mutai ruled.