Friday, September 12, 2025 - The ongoing trial involving Oki General Trading (Kenya) took a dramatic twist this week when the prosecution’s lead witness, Deepak Rajoriya, faced tough cross-examination that exposed glaring inconsistencies in his story - and raised uncomfortable questions about the company’s own tax history.
Rajoriya, who previously worked in the Finance and Accounts
Department of the parent company abroad, testified that he was sent to Kenya to
investigate suspected irregularities. Records show he entered the country on 25th
December 2024 - on a tourist visa - and within just two weeks, on 16th
January 2025, he had been installed as a Director of Oki General Trading.
Almost immediately, he commissioned a “forensic audit” which
now forms the backbone of the prosecution’s claims of a Ksh 356 million
misappropriation.
But under cross-examination, the cracks quickly appeared.
The company’s Annual Audits Were
Always Clean
Defense counsel pointed out that the company has undergone
annual independent audits for years, which formed the basis of its tax
remittances. None of those reports ever flagged discrepancies. When asked to
explain how such a massive sum could suddenly “go missing” without ever
appearing in the earlier audits, Rajauriya went silent, visibly shaken and
without an answer.
There is No Independent Evidence
Rajauriya admitted he conducted no internal investigation,
produced no company records, and had nothing to support his allegations beyond
the reports of an auditor he himself appointed mere weeks after arriving in
Kenya. The independence - or even authenticity - of those reports is now under
serious question.
A Curious Coincidence: The KRA Penalty
Perhaps the most explosive revelation came when it was noted
in open court that Oki General Trading is currently facing a Kenya Revenue
Authority (KRA) penalty of KES 356 million - the exact same figure they now
accuse a former director of misappropriating.
The glaring coincidence has fueled speculation: is the
company attempting to shift blame for its unpaid tax obligations onto an
ex-director, conveniently masking its liability to KRA under the guise of
“misappropriation”?
Public Doubts Mount
For observers, the spectacle of a witness who:
– Arrived as a tourist,
– Became a director in two weeks,
– Produced a contested audit almost immediately, and
– Could not reconcile years of clean audits with sudden
allegations of theft
This has only deepened doubts about the strength of the
prosecution’s case.
What started as a straightforward accusation is now mired in
controversy, with many asking: Is this truly about misappropriation, or is Oki
General Trading and Deepak Rajoriya trying to dodge a massive tax bill?
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