Two Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) employees have been charged alongside others not before the court over alleged fraudulent withdrawal of Sh1 million from a Dock Workers Union (DWU) account held at Bandari DT SACCO.
Mejuma Chirau and Kibibi Omery appeared before Senior Principal Magistrate Eric Wambo at the Mombasa Law Courts, where they denied the charges.
Prosecutor Mohammed Yasin read the charge sheet, with the accused first facing a charge of conspiracy to commit a felony contrary to Section 393 of the Penal Code.
The charge sheet states that on August 15, 2026, at Kilindini Port in Mvita Sub-County, Mombasa County, Chirau and Omery, jointly with others not before the court, conspired to commit a felony by fraudulently withdrawing Sh1 million from DWU bank account number 1000962 held at Bandari DT SACCO without authority.
The money is alleged to have been the property of the Dock Workers Union.
The second count is stealing contrary to Section 268(1), as read with Section 275 of the Penal Code. The particulars of the charge state that on the same date and at the same location, the accused, together with others not before the court, stole Sh1 million from DWU account number 1000962 held at Bandari DT SACCO.
The prosecutor did not oppose the accused persons being released on bail but urged the court to set a bond in consideration of the amount they are accused of stealing.
Magistrate Wambo admitted the accused persons to a bond of Sh500,000 each with a surety of a similar amount. They were also granted an alternative cash bail of Sh200,000 with two contact persons.
“Number two, the accused persons are to report to the OCS Port Police Station once a month. Three, the accused persons are restrained or restricted from interfering with the witnesses. There is a list of witnesses there. Number four, the accused persons are restrained from accessing the dock workers union offices,” ruled the magistrate.
He added: “The accused persons should not leave the jurisdiction of this court without leave of the court.”
The case will be mentioned on October 12, 2026.
Newly elected DWU General Secretary Abubakar Abdullahi is the complainant in the case on behalf of the union.
After assuming office in August 2026, the newly elected DWU officials called on the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to fast-track investigations into the alleged embezzlement of Sh82 million belonging to the union.
The officials assumed office on August 13, 2026, following an election that had been delayed by protracted legal battles and attempts by former officials to stop the exercise. The court eventually allowed the elections to proceed.
The alleged loss of the union’s funds comes against the backdrop of prolonged internal leadership disputes that had threatened the stability of the 70-year-old union.
Abdullahi said the alleged embezzlement involving one of the union’s accounts at Bandari DT SACCO occurred before the new officials assumed office and had already been reported to the relevant authorities.
He assured union members that the new leadership would leave no stone unturned in pursuing those responsible, recovering the funds, and ensuring that the culprits face justice.
He said the union would also undertake a comprehensive audit of its accounts to establish the organization’s financial position and determine whether there were other irregularities.
“We are planning to do an audit of the accounts. We have three accounts: Bandari, ABSA, and Housing Finance. I am giving those instructions as GS; maybe by tomorrow we start auditing all the accounts to find what is in there and what is missing,” said Abdullahi.
He said preliminary findings indicated that funds in the Bandari SACCO account had been withdrawn, with loans amounting to nearly Sh80 million taken out without a clear explanation of how the money was utilised.
“In Bandari SACCO, we have found that all the money has been withdrawn. Some loans were taken out of almost Sh80M, and when we look at breakdowns, we don’t know how it was used. Those are things that are already with the police, and we will follow up. Whoever took the union’s funds must return,” he said.
Abdullahi said the audit would cover transactions conducted before the new officials took office, noting that Sh1 million was withdrawn only hours after the elections, shortly before the union submitted a list of new signatories.
By Sadik Hassan
