By Staff Reporter
A Nairobi court has issued arrest warrants against Equity Bank’s Chief Operations Officer, Mr. Samuel Kirubi, and the bank’s Busia Branch Manager for failing to appear in a high-stakes case involving the alleged unlawful withdrawal of KSh 4 million from a frozen account.
The case, filed under Civil Suit No. E5211 of 2022 at the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Milimani pits Pamoagro Trading Limited against Equity Bank Kenya Limited and other individuals, including Mr. Fred Ombara Ogenya, the account holder, and Mr. Kirubi.
The matter came up for hearing before Senior Principal Magistrate Ongweno on Monday, 14 July 2025, but the two senior officials failed to appear in court, prompting the magistrate to issue arrest warrants. In court, the bank’s counsel attempted to justify the officials’ absence, but the magistrate dismissed the explanation as inadequate and unsatisfactory. The officials were granted 14 days to appear voluntarily in court, failing which Muhatia Pala & Associates, Pamoagro’s law firm, will obtain and enforce the arrest warrants.
The dispute dates back to 18 October 2022, when Pamoagro obtained a court order freezing funds held in Mr. Ogenya’s account at Equity Bank’s Busia Branch. Despite this, the complainant alleges that the bank knowingly facilitated the unlawful withdrawal of KSh 4 million from the frozen account. In an affidavit, Mr. Samuel Maina Gitau, a representative of Pamoagro Trading Limited, accuses Equity Bank of wilful disobedience of court orders.
Supporting affidavits filed by Mr. Mathias Mboya Maithya and Mr. Peter Muli Muinde confirm that court orders dated 17 and 28 October 2023 and 28 February 2023 were duly served on Equity Bank’s headquarters in Nairobi, and specifically on Mr. Kirubi and Mr. Ogenya, with acknowledgements of receipt properly recorded. Mr. Kirubi, who is personally implicated in the matter, has repeatedly failed to honour court summonses. He was first summoned on 26 September 2023, with follow-up orders issued for his appearance on 2 December 2023 and again on 9 April 2025, all of which he ignored.
The magistrate had intended to issue contempt and arrest orders on the April date but deferred the ruling to allow for final directions at the 14 July 2025 hearing. In a related ruling delivered on 21 January 2023, Principal Magistrate S.A. Opande struck out submissions filed on behalf of Mr. Ogenya by advocates Dennis Magara and Ashioya & Co. Advocates, after finding that they had acted without proper instructions and engaged in misrepresentation. Legal analysts are concerned about Equity Bank’s apparent pattern of non-compliance with court orders.
“This is no longer merely a civil matter; it is now a question of corporate accountability and respect for the rule of law,” observed one Nairobi-based lawyer familiar with the proceedings. The matter is scheduled to resume later this month. With arrest warrants now in force and judicial patience running thin, the focus will shift to whether the bank’s top brass will comply with court orders or face the full force of the law.
