A city businessman has been charged with pretending to be an associate of veteran lawyer Dr John Khaminwa in his law firm -- Khaminwa & Khaminwa Company Advocates.
Mr Nazir Bhadurali Nurmohamed Jinnah was charged Wednesday before Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Dolphina Alego with pretending to be a lawyer, impersonation, making a fake document and uttering the fake document.
In the five counts preferred against him by the prosecution led by Ms Winnie Moraa, Mr Jinnah is indicted with pretending to be an associate of 87-year-old veteran lawyer Dr Khaminwa. He is further accused of introducing himself to Mr Harbas Singh Birdi as an Associate in the law firm between 2013 and 2017.
He is accused of unlawfully authoring a letter for the sale of prime property located in Nyari, Nairobi, addressed to Mr Birdi, purporting it to be a genuine document authored by Khaminwa & Khaminwa Advocates.
When the trial began, a Directorate of Criminal lnvestigations (DCI) officer, Inspector Eunice Njue, was taken to task by the defence to prove that the accused pretended to be an Associate in the law firm. The policewoman was at pains to explain whether the law firm had lodged any complaint against Mr Jinnah.
"Did Khaminwa & Khaminwa report that Mr Jinnah was impersonating as a lawyer in this law firm?" asked the defence lawyer.
"No, we had not received any complaint from the law firm," she said.
The lawyer further questioned what the basis of the case was given that no complaint had been made at any police station.
"Your honour, I focused on the allegations of the accused person presenting himself as a lawyer from Khaminwa & Khaminwa Advocates," she said.
The defence further questioned whether there was a witness from the law firm to confirm whether the letter presented by the DCI before court was genuine or not.
Inspector Njue said Khaminwa & Khaminwa Advocates wrote a letter to the DCI explaining that "Mr Jinnah was not a lawyer in the law firm.”
The accused was arrested after a complaint was made by Mr Singh who claimed that he had lost a colossal amount of money in a transaction that involved the law firms Arjawalla & Khanna Advocates and Khaminwa & Khaminwa Advocates where the accused claimed to be an Associate.
Hearing continues on December 9, 2023.
