When Haile Menkerios, a respected Eritrean diplomat and a former United Nations employee met one of President William Ruto’s Mt.Kenya Pointman Francis Mureithi, he knew that all was well and he would get some tenders from the state.
By then he had decades resolving conflicts and in brief, he tried rebuilding the nations.
His problems began when he finally retired, hen he finally retired, his dream was to venture in business and when he visited Nairobi, he met a con who posed as a politician and a link to the senior officials within the government. This was Mr.Francis Wambugu Mureithi.
By 2016, Menkerios was living comfortably in retirement. His résumé was stellar degrees from Brandeis and Harvard, leadership roles at the UN, and mediation work across Africa. But an old friend from Nairobi, Abeba Weldehaimanot, would change everything.
She invited him to her Kilimani apartment to meet a man she called a trusted businessman, Francis Mureithi. He was introduced as someone well connected in government circles and said to be winning lucrative tenders with Kenya’s Department of Defence.
At first, the pitch sounded harmless. Mureithi needed quick capital to deliver food supplies and materials for the army.
The profits were to be split once payments came through. Weldehaimanot and another mutual friend, Hussein Osman, vouched for him. The diplomat saw it as an easy way to grow his savings, short-term investment, minimal risk, patriotic purpose.
He started small, wiring USD 235,000 (about Sh25 million) to Mureithi’s company, Doc Find Ltd, through Weldehaimanot’s account. The deal promised a quick refund plus ten percent profit.
Before that could happen, Mureithi dangled an even juicier offer: reinvest the full amount at 30% returns. Menkerios agreed, adding more money until the total reached about USD 618,000. Over time, the amount ballooned to nearly Sh320 million.
What followed was a blur of new ventures and grand promises. A joint company was formed to protect the deal.
There was talk of sugar supply contracts, weighbridge projects, and jute bag tenders. Menkerios believed it all. But by the end of that year, he hadn’t received a single payment.
The excuses were endless, government delays, system errors, bureaucratic hold-ups. Then came silence.
By 2018, realizing he’d been duped, Menkerios filed a civil suit in Nairobi’s Milimani Commercial Court, demanding nearly USD 5 million in losses and interest.
At first, it looked like victory was near. Mureithi didn’t respond to the case, and a default judgment loomed. But just as the diplomat breathed easy, the tide turned. Mureithi resurfaced, denying every accusation.
He claimed there were no deals, no contracts, no deliveries. In his version, Menkerios had sent the money for his own personal missions, hinting it was meant to bypass UN rules. He admitted receiving cash but insisted it was for “consultancy.”
Investigators at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) stepped in. Their findings painted a darker picture. The Defence Ministry denied any contracts with Mureithi. Mumias Sugar and the Export Processing Zone confirmed their alleged deals were fake.
DCI records showed the money had gone into luxury property and shares worth tens of millions. They recommended charges of obtaining money by false pretenses.
By 2021, Mureithi and his associate, Francis Mwauura, faced criminal prosecution.
Mwauura maintained his innocence, saying deliveries had been made and payments were pending. Mureithi, on the other hand, changed stories repeatedly, blaming political interference.
As years passed, justice remained elusive. The criminal case stalled with adjournments and appeals. In 2023, Justice Freda Mugambi dismissed Menkerios’s civil case, terming the entire deal a sham.
She ruled that no reasonable investor could pour millions into a business without official documents like tender bids or invoices. To her, it was an illegal scheme undeserving of court protection.
The decision was devastating. Menkerios appealed, arguing that the court ignored evidence and misinterpreted the law. His appeal is still pending, but each delay weakens hope. The criminal trial, too, has slowed down, bouncing between Kiambu and Milimani courts.
For Menkerios, the losses go beyond money. Friends say the scandal has scarred him deeply, a blow to both pride and peace. From a man who once advised presidents and shaped nations, he’s now entangled in a system where justice crawls.
Mureithi, once seen in political circles close to President William Ruto’s camp, has moved on with little visible consequence. Mwauura, too, walks free as the case drags on.
Nearly a decade later, the retired diplomat is still chasing shadows, his life savings scattered in fake contracts and vanished promises.
It’s a sobering reminder that even the sharpest minds can fall prey to polished deceit, and that in Kenya’s world of tender deals, truth and trickery often share the same table.