The directors of popular 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 collateral.
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 showed that the matter was best dealt with in a civil court.
The court was informed that the charges arose out of purely commercial transactions between the couple and the lender.
The couple, through their lawyer Jackson Awele, claimed that they did not obtain the money under false pretences and had intended to defraud the bank by charging their property on General Mathenge Road against the loan.
According to the charges, the restaurateur and their company, Good Earth (Group) ltd, caused the lender to execute a charge on 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.
The apartment was built on a plot of land in Nairobi, namely Crystal Edge Apartment, to secure the Sh520 million.
Evidence presented in court showed that the couple, who are directors of Good Earth Group, entered into an agreement with Victoria Bank and started borrowing from 2015 and continued to acquire more loans from the bank until November 2020.
Victoria Commercial Bank had said that the two obtained loans from them in 2018/2019, but deliberately prevented the perfection of the security.
But even after the loans were granted to the company, the security – for an apartment at a property known as Crystal Edge – was never registered.
Earlier efforts by the couple to have the charges dropped were rejected as the DPP claimed that a review of the case file showed that there was sufficient evidence on the record to sustain the charges.
