The trial of Oki General Trading (Kenya) took an unexpected turn this week after the prosecution’s star witness, Deepak Rajoriya, struggled under cross-examination exposing contradictions in his testimony and prompting fresh scrutiny of the company’s own tax affairs.
Rajoriya, a former employee in the finance and accounts department of the firm’s parent company abroad, told the court he was dispatched to Kenya to probe suspected financial irregularities. Records, however, revealed an unusual sequence of events: he entered Kenya on 25 December 2024 using a tourist visa, and by 16 January 2025 barely three weeks later he had been elevated to director of Oki General Trading. Almost immediately, he commissioned a “forensic audit” that now underpins the prosecution’s case, which claims KES 356 million was misappropriated.
But the defense quickly exposed troubling gaps in his account.
Years of Clean Audits
Defense counsel highlighted that Oki General Trading has undergone routine, independent annual audits, which formed the basis of its tax filings. None of these ever flagged missing funds.
When asked how such a huge discrepancy could have slipped past auditors year after year, Rajoriya appeared rattled and failed to provide an answer.
Lack of Independent Evidence
Pressed further, Rajoriya admitted he had not carried out an internal investigation and could not produce supporting company records. His allegations, he conceded, relied solely on the report of an auditor he personally appointed within weeks of arriving in Kenya raising doubts about both the independence and credibility of that evidence.
The KRA Penalty Coincidence
The trial’s most explosive moment came when the defense revealed that Oki General Trading is currently facing a Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) penalty of KES 356 million – the exact figure Rajoriya claims was misappropriated.
This revelation sparked speculation that the company may be attempting to shift responsibility for unpaid taxes onto a former director, framing it as theft rather than liability to the taxman.
Growing Public Skepticism
The portrait of a witness who:
- Entered Kenya as a tourist,
- Rose to directorship in under a month,
- Commissioned a contested audit almost immediately, and
- Failed to reconcile years of clean audits with sudden claims of theft…has only deepened doubts over the credibility of the prosecution’s case.
What began as a clear-cut accusation of fraud has morphed into a messy battle – with observers now questioning whether this is really about misappropriation, or if Oki General Trading is scrambling to dodge a massive tax bill.
