Sons of Former AG Karugu Charged in Family Company Share Dispute

Three siblings from the family of former Attorney General James Karugu have been charged in court over the alleged fraudulent transfer of company shares, with all denying the accusations.

Jane Wangechi Karugu, Eric Karugu and Benjamin Karugu appeared on Tuesday before Senior Principal Magistrate Dolphina Alego, where they were charged with conspiracy to defraud, forgery, uttering false documents and giving false information to a public officer. They pleaded not guilty to all counts.

The charges relate to an alleged scheme to remove their sister, Victoria Nyambura Karugu, from ownership of Mathara Holding Limited. Prosecutors claim that in May 2012, one ordinary share was transferred from Mathara Holding Limited to Centurion Holding Limited without her consent. 

Victoria Nyambura Karugu is listed as the complainant and is represented by advocate Philip Murgor. The court rejected a defence application to defer plea taking and ordered the case to proceed. Each accused was granted bond of Sh1.5 million with two sureties of a similar amount, or a cash bail alternative of Sh700,000. They were also directed to deposit their passports with the court until the case is concluded.

Pretrial directions were scheduled for 20 January 2026. The prosecution indicated it would call several witnesses, including the complainant, a document examiner and the investigating officer, Peter Ouma.

The matter has previously been delayed after the accused failed to attend court despite being served with summons. On 9 December, the prosecution informed the court of their absence, leading the magistrate to issue fresh summons to compel attendance, while clarifying that these were not warrants of arrest.

Defence lawyers had earlier attributed the failure to attend court to medical reasons, including Covid-19, bronchitis and hypertension. Prosecutors disputed the medical documents, saying they did not provide sufficient detail to justify non-attendance.