A Nairobi court has heard how a man allegedly impersonated a Canadian Embassy official to swindle more than Sh51 million from a travel company and its clients, leaving dozens of hopeful travellers stranded, arrested at foreign airports, or turned back during transit.
The detailed allegations were laid out by a prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Brian Reeves Obare at the Milimani Law Courts before trial magistrate Paul Mutai. Lidia Nyagala, a former employee of Golden Key Travel Consultants Limited, testified that her company engaged Obare between March 2022 and November 2023 to process Canadian visas, believing him to be a legitimate consular official.
Nyagala told the court that Obare was introduced to the firm by an associate. “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 stated. She first met the accused at Embassy House in Nairobi’s central business district, where he reinforced this representation.
Under the arrangement, clients paid Golden Key a fee of Sh450,000 each, with an initial deposit of Sh124,500. The company would then remit the funds to Obare, along with clients’ passports and a suite of supporting documents including academic papers, police clearances, and vaccination certificates.
Communication was primarily via phone calls and WhatsApp, the court heard. Nyagala testified that Obare would later send documents purportedly for biometrics before demanding full payment, after which the physical passports would be handed over.
She said fewer than 50 passports were submitted, but the scheme unravelled as none of the applicants ever reached Canada. Instead, they faced travel chaos. “Some clients were arrested at airports, while others were denied boarding, while several were returned to Kenya from Addis Ababa and Dubai during transit,” Nyagala said.
The situation escalated when Obare allegedly demanded an extra Sh50,000 per client, claiming he had contacts at the airport who could facilitate their departure. Despite these additional payments, the witness stated that “the visas were eventually crossed out and declared invalid.” Efforts to verify the process with the Canadian Embassy initially proved fruitless, but subsequent investigations confirmed Obare had never worked for any embassy and that all visas issued were fraudulent.
On the financial trail, Nyagala said payments were made to bank accounts and mobile numbers provided by Obare. While total payments were estimated at Sh82 million, missing records meant the firm could only formally account for Sh51.2 million through receipts and transaction documents presented in court. Following the discovery of the fraud, Golden Key Travel Consultants refunded approximately Sh34 million to its aggrieved clients.
The matter was reported to Lang’ata Police Station and later taken over by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations. Obare’s arrest followed official confirmation from the Canadian Embassy that he had no official links to the mission. He now faces three charges: obtaining money by false pretences contrary to Section 313 of the Penal Code for the alleged Sh51.2 million fraud; acquisition of proceeds of crime, linked to the purchase of a Land Rover Discovery; and personation for posing as a Canadian consular official.
During cross-examination, defence lawyers sought to challenge the prosecution’s narrative, probing Nyagala’s former employment status, the reliability and completeness of the company’s financial records, the accuracy of the monetary figures cited, and the authenticity of the documents produced as evidence. These are issues the court will weigh as the hearing continues.
