Mugoya Woes: Police quiz Mugoya over economic crimes (August 2007)

Published on August 3, 2007, Standard

By Morton Saulo and Cyrus Ombati

Nairobi-based Ugandan businessman James Isabirye Mugoya was arrested on Wednesday night and taken to Kileleshwa Police Station.

Mugoya, who is expected to face charges on economic crimes, was arrested at a private residence along State House Road in Nairobi.

Kilimani, Mr OCPD Herbert Khaemba, confirmed the arrest noting that officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Thursday interrogated him for three hours on cases relating to bank loans amounting to billions of shillings, whose payments he has defaulted.

Previously a team of detectives from CID headquarters had unsuccessfully raided two homes in the city, where Mugoya was believed to be hiding.

The team said recently they had been making good progress in their hunt for the trader, who is also facing prosecution in Uganda over bribery allegations.

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This followed an advertisement placed in the media two weeks ago by police that the businessman was wanted to face economic crimes charges.

He is the former managing director of Mugoya Construction & Engineering Company Limited based in Nairobi and the charges pending in court pit him against the new managers of the construction firm, now in receivership.

Mugoya’s former employees have also joined the battle to reclaim their monies, which the company owes them.

It also emerged that Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) had appointed private investigators to track the company’s property in efforts to get back over Sh3 billion it is owed.

Mugoya Construction, which in its heyday under the previous government won many lucrative projects, was placed in receivership at the beginning of the year over unpaid debts amounting to more than Shs3 billion.

Mugoya has for a long time lived in Nairobi and he featured prominently on the list of debtors prepared by KCB.