The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has secured the conviction of a Congolese national who masterminded a fraudulent tantalum minerals scheme that swindled a Chinese investor out of KSh151 million.
In a judgment delivered at the Milimani Law Courts, Lumumba Ulundu Patrick, also known as Gabriel Kulonda and Lumumba Patrick, was found guilty of obtaining money by false pretences contrary to Section 313 of the Penal Code.
The court sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment or, in the alternative, ordered him to pay a fine of KSh10 million. In addition, the court directed him to refund the victim the entire KSh151 million lost in the fraud.
ODPP Secures Conviction in Multi-Million Tantalum Fraud Case. Photo: Courtesy.
According to the prosecution, Lumumba orchestrated an elaborate scheme in which containers filled with sand were falsely presented as consignments of tantalum, a valuable mineral widely used in the manufacture of electronic components.
The fraud was uncovered after one of the containers was opened overseas, where it was discovered to contain drums of sand instead of the declared tantalum, resulting in substantial financial losses for the Chinese investor.
Evidence presented before the court further showed that Lumumba was arrested by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Operations Support Unit (OSU) on April 5, 2024, shortly after arriving in Nairobi from Entebbe, Uganda.
Investigators established that he had attempted to re-enter Kenya using alternative identification documents and multiple aliases despite a stop order having been placed on one of his travel documents.
The prosecution team comprising Sonia Njoki, Hillary Isiaho and James Murage successfully proved the case beyond reasonable doubt, leading to Lumumba’s conviction and the recovery orders issued by the court.
