A family has launched a high-stakes legal battle against Equity Bank and two other parties, alleging a meticulously planned fraud resulted in the loss of Ksh 10.46 million from their savings account. Siblings Isaac Kennedy Mwangi, Mary Karanja, and Joseph Kinuthia have filed suit at the Milimani Law Courts, accusing Marina Group Limited, Lucy W. Muturi, and Equity Bank Kenya Limited of orchestrating what they term a “well-coordinated fraudulent scheme” that exploited a suspect court case to illegally access their funds.
The dispute centers on a fixed deposit account at Equity Bank’s Ngong Branch, which the plaintiffs held jointly with their father, David Karangi. According to court documents filed this year, the account was opened on 27 September 2024 with a deposit of Ksh 10.47 million. The alarming discovery was made in July 2025 when Isaac Mwangi, during a routine balance enquiry at the Kitengela Branch, was informed the account had been emptied to satisfy a garnishee order from a case unknown to them: Embu MCCC/E201 of 2024: Marina Group Limited vs. Lucy Muturi & The Estate of David Kariuki Karangi.
An investigation by their lawyers, Mugane Law LLP, uncovered a sequence of events described in the suit as legally facilitated theft. The original case, filed by Marina Group in November 2024, claimed a debt of Ksh 19.8 million from Lucy Muturi and the “Estate of David Kariuki Karangi” for supplied farm machinery. The plaintiffs highlight critical irregularities, noting their father was alive when the suit was filed against his “estate”; he passed away in February 2025, months after the case concluded. They also vehemently deny the supply of goods and contest a debt recovery agreement presented in court, alleging the signature attributed to their father is a forgery, as he “used to use his thumbprint.”
The Embu case proceeded with remarkable speed. The parties, represented by Onyango & Aywa Advocates for Marina Group and B.K. Rono & Co. Advocates for the defendants, recorded a consent judgment on 27 November 2024 for the full Ksh 19.8 million, payable within two days. The consent included an agreement for a garnishee order against Lucy Muturi to recover funds from a specified account: number 0700385782428 at the Ngong Branch. A decree was issued the following day. “The entire fraudulent scheme targeting the subject account lasted a total of 15 days from the date of institution of the suit to the date of the issuance of the decree and a further 16 days from the issuance of the decree to the fraudulent payment of the monies thereof,” the plaint states.
The pivotal alleged failure, however, rests with Equity Bank. On 14 December 2024, the bank debited the plaintiffs’ account, which was held under a completely different number and name, transferring Ksh 10,464,725 to the lawyers for Marina Group. This action was taken despite the court decree and a subsequent letter from Onyango & Aywa Advocates explicitly directing the bank to debit account number 0700385782428. “We were never involved whatsoever during the said court proceedings nor by the bank prior to the release of our monies as the rightful joint owners of the subject account,” Isaac Mwangi states in his witness testimony, underscoring the lack of due process.
The plaintiffs have levelled detailed accusations of fraud against Marina Group and Lucy Muturi, including conspiring to sue a non-existent legal entity and producing a fake debt agreement. Against Equity Bank, the allegations include conspiracy, negligence, and a profound failure to uphold its fiduciary duty. The court documents state that the bank failed “to accord the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Plaintiffs the due care and protection of their property in the circumstances, leading to a loss of Kshs. 10,464,725.” This case presents a severe test of procedural safeguards within Kenya’s banking and judicial systems, suggesting that a combination of a suspect, a rapid-fire court process, and a bank’s failure to execute a basic account verification can lead to catastrophic customer losses.
The plaintiffs are now seeking judgment against all three defendants, jointly and severally, for the full amount lost, plus costs and interest. As the case moves forward, it will scrutinize the conduct of all parties involved, from the acquisition of a consent judgment in Embu under highly unusual circumstances to the fundamental operational lapse at Equity Bank that left a family seeking justice and the restoration of their life savings through the very legal system allegedly exploited to take them.
