A prosecution witness has told a Nairobi court that more than Sh51 million was paid to an individual who allegedly posed as a Canadian Embassy official to process visas that never materialised, leaving dozens of hopeful travellers stranded, arrested at airports, or turned back during transit.
Testifying before Milimani trial magistrate Paul Mutai, Lidia Nyagala, a former employee of Golden Key Travel Consultants Limited, said the company engaged the accused, Brian Reeves Obare, between March 2022 and November 2023 to facilitate Canadian visa applications for its clients.
Nyagala told the court that Obare was introduced to the firm by one Esnas Mboga who was a friend to Nancy Najira, Obare presented him as a counsellor attached to the Canadian Embassy. She said she first met the accused at Embassy House in Nairobi’s central business district, where he represented himself as a consular official.
Under the arrangement, clients paid Golden Key Travel Consultants, which would then remit the money to Obare for visa processing. The agreed fee per client was Sh450,000, with an initial deposit of Sh124,500. Nyagala testified that the firm collected passports and supporting documents from clients, including Passports, identity cards, birth certificate, marriage certificates, academic papers, digital photographs, police clearance certificates, COVID-19 certificates and yellow fever cards, which were then forwarded to the accused together with payments.
She said communication with Obare was mainly conducted through Calls and WhatsApp, and that he would later send documents allegedly meant for biometrics before demanding full payment. Upon request, clients’ passports would be handed over to him. According to the witness, fewer than 50 passports were submitted, but none of the applicants ever successfully travelled to Canada.
Nyagala told the court that some clients were arrested at airports, while others were denied boarding, while several were returned to Kenya from Addis Ababa and Dubai during transit. She added that the accused later demanded an extra Sh50,000 per client, claiming he had contacts at the airport who could facilitate their departure. Despite the additional payments, the visas were eventually crossed out and declared invalid.
She testified that efforts to verify the matter with the Canadian Embassy initially proved futile, Subsequent investigations established that Obare had never worked for any embassy and that none of the visas issued were valid
On the financial trail, Nyagala said payments were made to bank accounts and mobile phone numbers provided by the accused, with total payments estimated at about Sh82 million. However, due to missing records, the firm could only account for Sh51.2 million through receipts and transaction documents produced in court. She said Golden Key refunded about Sh34 million to clients after the fraud was uncovered.
The matter was reported to Lang’ata Police Station and later taken over by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, leading to Obare’s arrest after confirmation from the Canadian Embassy that he had no official links to the mission.
The accused faces three charges: obtaining money by false pretences contrary to Section 313 of the Penal Code, relating to the alleged fraudulent acquisition of Sh51.2 million from Golden Key Travel Consultants; acquisition of proceeds of crime contrary to the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act, linked to the purchase of a Land Rover Discovery; and personation contrary to Section 382 of the Penal Code for allegedly posing as a Canadian consular official.
During cross-examination, defence lawyers questioned Nyagala’s employment status, the company’s records, the accuracy of the financial figures, and the authenticity of documents produced, issues the court is expected to determine as the trial continues.
