Fake Canadian embassy official pocketed sh51 million in visa scam, court told

A witness has told a Nairobi court how his travel consultancy firm wired over Sh51 million to a man they believed was a legitimate Canadian Embassy official, only to later discover their clients were being arrested at airports, deported mid-transit, and issued visas that were crossed out and declared invalid.

Bonventure Aradi, a director at Golden Key Travel Consultants Limited and one of the alleged victims, told trial magistrate Paul Mutai at the Milimani Law Courts that his company engaged Brian Reeves Obare in good faith, forwarding funds collected from clients under the belief he had the capacity to process Canadian visas for youths seeking jobs abroad.

"Employees of Golden Key were sending money to Obare who presented himself as a counsellor attached to the Canadian Embassy … on behalf of the company," Aradi told the court.

He added that all transactions were processed through official company channels and that Obare was the sole recipient of the funds. Aradi told the court the company collected passports and supporting documents from clients, which were then handed, together with payments, directly to Obare. He maintained that Golden Key operated transparently throughout, with multiple staff involved in handling the transactions.

The payments, he said, exceeded Sh51 million. None of the visa applications succeeded.The court heard that clients never boarded flights to Canada. Some were denied boarding at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, while others were stopped in transit in Addis Ababa and Dubai after their documents were found to be invalid. Several were arrested at airports.

The visas they had been issued were later crossed out and declared worthless.Aradi told the court the financial fallout for the company has been significant.
Golden Key has since refunded over Sh34 million to affected clients, while others were assisted to travel to alternative destinations in Europe as compensation.

His testimony mirrors that of former employee Lidia Nyagala, who earlier told the court that Obare was introduced to the firm through a mutual contact and presented himself as a counsellor attached to the Canadian Embassy.

"I first met him at Embassy House in Nairobi, where he claimed to be a consular official," Nyagala testified. Clients reportedly paid Sh450,000 per application, including an initial deposit of Sh124,500, and submitted passports, identification documents, academic papers, police clearance certificates, and vaccination records, all forwarded to the accused.

Nyagala further told the court that when visas failed, Obare demanded an additional Sh50,000 per person, claiming to have airport contacts who could facilitate travel.
The additional payments did not yield results.

Total funds paid to Obare are estimated at up to Sh82 million, though only Sh51.2 million has been documented in court records.
Investigations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, following a report at Lang’ata Police Station, confirmed through the Canadian Embassy that Obare had never held any position at the mission and that the visas issued were not genuine.

Upon arrest, officers recovered a fake Seychelles identity card and an expatriate employee card listing him as a demarcation officer under Seychelles’ Ministry of Lands and Housing.Both documents bore his name and the same expiry date — October 30, 2024.

A Land Rover Discovery (registration KDM 279R), suspected to have been purchased using proceeds of the fraud, along with high-end phones and laptops, was also seized and is undergoing forensic analysis.
A defence attempt to recover the items was dismissed by the High Court, which ruled that their release was premature.

"I find that it is/was premature to release the items at the pre-trial stage," the court ruled.The court further held that the trial magistrate had no authority to release exhibits before they were formally produced in evidence, ordering that all items remain in police custody.

Obare faces three counts including obtaining Sh51,244,650 by false pretences, acquisition of proceeds of crime, and personation for allegedly posing as a Canadian consular official.The matter was initially before Magistrate Lucas Onyina, who recused himself after disclosing that the defence had attempted to approach him to compromise proceedings.

One prosecution witness, Nancy Nanjira, has been declared unfit to testify after a psychiatric assessment diagnosed her with active schizoaffective disorder.
The hearing continues.