The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has withdrawn charges against Edwin Harold Dayan Dande, CEO of Cytonn Investments, and four others, citing a lack of evidence in the protracted case brought by Britam Insurance.
In a letter dated May 16, 2024, addressed to Mali Advocates and Saroni & Stevens Advocates, the Acting Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, Dorcas Rugut, acknowledged the request for a review of the decision to charge the accused.
Rugut confirmed that the ODPP had conducted an independent and thorough review of the case file and found insufficient evidence to proceed, primarily due to missing key documents from the complainant, Britam Insurance.
“We had requested further investigation regarding certified copies of the KPMG forensic audit report, Coulson Harney Advocates legal audit report, and the Joint Venture Agreement between Britam and Acorn Group Limited from the complainants,” stated Rugut.
“The investigators sought these documents from Britam Insurance, but they were not availed. A reminder was sent but similarly received no response. Consequently, the DPP has directed that the matter in court be withdrawn until the documents sought are availed to avoid a miscarriage of justice,” Rugut added.
The charges against Dande, which included “stealing by servant” in connection with a KES 1.2 billion complaint, have lingered since the case was first filed in 2014, the same time he left Britam to start Cytonn. The case was notably contentious, involving high-profile accusations and a substantial sum of money.
Dande expressed relief and vindication following the ODPP’s decision. In a statement, he remarked, “A great Friday letter from our lawyers: Saroni & Stevens Advocates, and Mali Advocates. The decade-old KES 1.2 billion theft by servant fabricated complaint by Britam against its former staff that was engineered by the former CEO has finally rested. You can’t sustain fabrications forever.”
Dande has long maintained that the accusations were baseless and motivated by ulterior motives.
“For a decade, we have never wavered, even for a second, that it would eventually come out that these were pure fabrications – that day and time is finally here!” he added. He also criticized the KPMG audit report, labeling it as fabricated.
Edwin Dande, Shiv Arora, Elizabeth Nkukuu, and Patricia Wanjama, who are the founding members of Cytonn Investments, were charged due to Britam’s allegations of irregularities and malfeasance connected to their departure and subsequent actions.
Specifically, the charges arose from accusations that the Cytonn founders improperly transferred funds from Britam accounts. Although these allegations were not proven in court, Britam contended that the founders acted against the company’s interests by attempting to disrupt investment deals worth around KES 5 billion.
Britam filed lawsuits claiming that the Cytonn founders engaged in activities detrimental to Britam, viewing these actions as a deliberate attempt to harm the company and support their new venture, Cytonn Investments.
The major shareholders in Britam include IFC, Swiss Re, AfricInvest, Jimnah Mbaru, Peter Munga and James Mwangi.
