Court Orders Arrest of Mama Nyama Restaurant Owner in Sh520 Million Fraud Case

Ninaa Shanghavi, the proprietor of Mama Nyama restaurant, and who stands accused of fraudulently obtaining Sh520 million from a local bank, has reportedly gone missing.

On Wednesday, senior principal magistrate Zainab Abdul issued a warrant of arrest against Ninaa after she failed to appear in court.

Her attorney said she traveled outside the country but the magistrate declined to suspend the warrant for her arrest for two weeks, saying Ninaa was aware she was required to appear in court.

Ninaa and her husband Jayesh Shanghavi are alleged to have obtained a Sh520 million loan from a bank without offering security.

The bank had filed an application seeking to be allowed to publish a newspaper advertisement announcing that she was missing. But the court directed the restauranter to present herself in court within two weeks or else the bank would be free to announce her missing.

Ninaa and her spouse are directors of Good Earth (Group) Ltd, the company behind Nyama Mama, Blue Door, Yao, and Deli and Bakery. The two are accused of inducing Victoria Commercial Bank to execute a charge over an apartment in Nairobi to obtain a Sh520 million loan with intent to defraud.

They allegedly committed the offense on diverse dates between December 10th, 2018, and November 2020. The court released Mr. Shanghavi on Sh400,000 cash bail.

The case will be mentioned on December 21st.