Arrest at Milimani Law Courts
Identity of the Suspect—Advocate Michael Otieno Owano
Details of the Fake Tenders Involved
Breakdown of Payments Totaling Ksh 182M
Law Firms Linked to the Scam
Ongoing Investigations and Legal Proceedings
Expected Court Appearance and Charges
Detectives from the Operations Support Unit have arrested a key suspect, Advocate Michael Otieno Owano, at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi. Owano, the alleged principal of Owano Michael & Co. Advocates, was apprehended on Tuesday shortly after attending a court session in Court No. 5 related to a separate ongoing criminal case (CR 145/13/2024), where he is also listed as the accused.
The facts preceding his arrest date back to 2022, when the proprietor of the American-based company, namely Underground Pipeline Rehabilitation Company, was lured to jet in the country by one Alvin Alexander (the purported CEO of Orion AST Company) to allegedly meet some government officials and discuss the award of tenders by the Kenyan government.
Oblivious of the prime suspect’s choreographed machinations, the complainant flew into the country, where they held several meetings in various offices and were handed three different fake tender documents as follows:
1. Tender No KCAA/032/2021-2022: Tender for Supply, Installation and Commissioning of Area Control Centre and Disaster Recovery System equipment
2. Tender No ICTA/RFP/03/2022-2022: Provision of Consultancy Services for the Process of Design, Implementation, and Maintenance of an Information Management System (ISMS)
3. Tender No. MEWNR/T/18/2021-2022. Supply, Delivery, Installation, and Commissioning of Automatic Weather Stations (AWS).
In the process, the complainant was hoodwinked into making payments to facilitate the tenders and work permits as part of the conditions to be met before commencing the projects. Payments amounting to USD 1,617,200 (equivalent to Ksh 182,743,600) were made as instructed by the purported government officials, through four different escrow accounts operated by four law firms as follows:
1. Owano Michael & Company Advocates – $90,000 for legal fees for contracts 1 & 1 & 1&2)
2. Ollando Misare & Associates, LLP – $30,000 for legal fees, $262,000, and $285,000 for Bid Bond for contract 3)
3. Dennis Onyango & Company Associates – $200,200 for work permits for Orion employees
4. Ouko Angado Co. Advocates – $750,000 for work permits for Orion employees.
What followed the payments were months of being taken in circles, with the once hospitable and respectable members of the syndicate blocking contact and foiling scheduled meetings. Devastated, the complainant reported the fraud to the DCI, and investigations were launched.
The first suspect (Owano Michael), who is not new to court corridors over such scams, was taken into custody and processed for arraignment today, but was later released on cash bail to await the approval of the charges preferred against him by the ODPP. His accomplices are also being sought.
He is expected in court with more charges.
