'I have two wives': Golden Key Director's chaotic testimony rocks Sh51m visa case

A director of Golden Key Travel Consultants Limited was left visibly struggling to give coherent answers before a Nairobi court as defence lawyers relentlessly pressed him over glaring inconsistencies in a case involving more than Sh51 million allegedly obtained through a fake Canadian visa scheme.

Testifying before Milimani trial magistrate Paul Mutai, Bonaventure Aradi, who is one of the company's directors and a key prosecution witness, found himself on the back foot during a bruising cross-examination, repeatedly failing to give direct explanations on critical questions ranging from company finances to his personal life.

The case centres on Brian Reeves Obare, who is charged with obtaining Sh51,244,650 from Golden Key Travel Consultants by falsely presenting himself as a Canadian Embassy consular official capable of processing travel visas, a claim later confirmed as false by the Canadian Embassy itself.

But it was the prosecution's own witness who found himself under the spotlight before a full-packed courtroom.

When pressed by Obare's lawyers to produce audited accounts showing how the over Sh51 million collected from visa applicants had been handled, Aradi admitted that no such records had been furnished to the court.

"Have you produced audit accounts on how much was given?" the defence lawyer demanded.

In response, Businessman Aradi had no satisfactory answer.

He further disclosed that a key record book containing client details and payment accounts had been lost at the company's offices,a revelation that drew sharp scrutiny from the defence over the company's financial accountability.

Complications deepened when the defence challenged Aradi to produce a company resolution authorising the financial transactions at the centre of the case.

He was unable to do so, instead gesturing vaguely at employee contracts.

Perhaps the most dramatic exchanges came over the company's registration timelines.

According to the DPP's charge sheet, it alleges offences occurring from January 1, 2022, yet documents show the company, Golden Key Travel Consultants Limited, was only registered on March 2, 2023, more than twelve months after the alleged crimes began.

When the defence put it to him squarely, Aradi's explanation drew raised eyebrows.

"The company was established on March 2, 2023, and the offences started on January 1, 2022. So you mean the offence started before the company even existed?"Obare's lawyer posed

In response, Aradi was extremely at a loss to explain to the court how the company registration happened months after the alleged offence had been committed.

He stated that: "The company was still running before. We have the business name, then the limited... it is like what happens when a bank goes under receivership."

The comparison left the court unconvinced, with the defence pressing further without receiving a clear answer.

Confusion extended to the company's very name.

Documents produced in court showed varying versions, Golden Key, Golden Key, and Garden Key, appearing interchangeably across employment contracts, permits, and official registration papers.

Aradi acknowledged the documents but offered no coherent explanation for the discrepancies.

The businessman's personal life also became an unexpected focal point during the court proceedings.

When shown a replying affidavit filed in petition E57/2024 at the High Court Constitutional and Human Rights division and asked whether he had a wife, Aradi initially said yes, naming Lydia Inyangala.

Moments later, however, as the defence pressed him on a second signature appearing on the same document, he conceded: "I have two wives. Lydia is my legally married wife, and Nancy Nanjira, too."

The document in question confirmed that both Lydia Inyangala and Nancy Nanjira, who are both key figures in the case, had been employees of the company simultaneously.

"From this statement, it confirms that Lydia is your wife and Nancy is a cousin of your wife?"Obare's lawyer asked.

Indeed, the businessman confessed before the court that he also had a love affair with his wife's cousin, Nancy, who also worked in the company.

"You can say so. I can date Nancy, the law does not discriminate," Aradi defended his move to date his wife's cousin.

Aradi also struggled with basic details about the company's structure, giving approximate figures when asked about the number of directors and employees.

The witness, Aradi, was also asked to explain how he allegedly lost the money.

However, his answers were unclear, with the defence repeatedly pressing him to give direct explanations about how the funds were handled and the role of the company.

At one point, Aradi said the transactions were carried out by company employees on behalf of the business.

But when asked to provide a company resolution authorising the transactions, he was unable to do so, instead referring generally to employment contracts.

The case, in which over 600 visa applications were processed but only around 40 succeeded, with numerous applicants arrested at airports or turned back during transit, continues to expose a trail of unanswered questions, now including those from within the prosecution's own camp.

The defence further questioned inconsistencies in the witness’s testimony, pointing out that another witness had earlier indicated that none of the visas were successful.

The lawyer also challenged the witness to provide specific evidence of payments made by individual clients, citing several cases where some clients, who allegedly paid Sh150,000 for visa processing.

When asked to produce acknowledgement records or entries showing the payment, the witness said a key record book containing client details and accounts had been lost at his office and did not contain complete financial records. 

The defence also questioned the handling of client funds, particularly claims that employees were allowed to collect money through personal accounts, raising concerns about transparency and accountability in the operations.

On the role of the key suspect, Brian Obare, the defence sought proof that he was the consular officer in the case linked to the Canadian embassy, arguing that no official document had been produced to confirm the claim.

The witness maintained that Obare had presented himself as a consular officer during meetings attended by other staff members and that communication existed showing he interacted with employees in that capacity.

The court further heard that several clients, including Nancy and Grace Kwamboka, paid millions of shillings for visa processing, with the witness claiming that part of the money was later refunded after applicants demanded their funds back.

In response, the witness, under the guidance of the DPP, sought to clarify that the investigation and prosecution focus on whether money was obtained under false pretences, not on family matters or unrelated issues.

The hearing continues.