Man narrates how woman allegedly stole his Ksh.335K after first meetup at Nairobi club

A man on Thursday narrated how a woman he met for the first time at a club in Nairobi’s Lavington area allegedly stole Ksh.335,000 from him after a night out.

The accused, Lora Odero, has been charged with stealing the money from James Kiaritha.

It is alleged that she committed the offence on March 15, 2025, at an apartment complex in Riverside by fraudulently transferring money from the complainant’s mobile account.

Testifying before the court, James Mwangi Kiaritha, a 34-year-old businessman, recounted how he met the accused for the first time during a night of entertainment that began at a bar in Lavington.

He said that at around 2:00 a.m., he left and proceeded to another bar at Lavington Mall, where he met two women identified as Maya and Lora.

The three, he said, partied together until about 6:30 a.m. before going to a coffee shop.

Kiaritha told the court that he later offered to drop Lora off at her residence at the apartments in Riverside. Upon arrival, she invited him into her apartment and showed him around.

However, once inside, Kiaritha said his memory became “blurred,” and he could not recall what happened afterwards.

“It was my first time dropping anyone,” he said. “When I woke up, I was fully dressed, and my phone was beside me.”

He added that Lora was the one who woke him up, claiming that she needed to rush to a pharmacy for medicine.

Kiaritha told the court that he drove her to the pharmacy using his car, and they parted ways afterwards.

Later that morning, he attempted to make a payment through his mobile money wallet but realized that his account had insufficient funds.

Alarmed, he contacted his bank, which informed him that several unauthorized transactions had been made from his mobile banking account.

The court heard that Kiaritha then obtained his mobile money statements, which revealed multiple transactions to a phone number belonging to the accused. The transactions occurred on March 15, 2025, at 9:51 a.m., 9:52 a.m., and 11:30 a.m.

When shown the statements in court, Kiaritha said he could not explain the transfers. “I can’t explain any transactions to Lora because I don’t send money to people,” he said.

He told the court that all his bank accounts were secured using similar PINs and that it was his first time meeting the accused.

“After that day, I never reached out to her again because it didn’t make sense,” he said.

During cross-examination, the defence lawyer suggested that the witness had earlier informed the accused that he lived in Runda and did not want to engage in sexual activity with her. The witness denied the claim.

He also denied that the accused declined to have sex with him, saying he was the one who chose not to discuss the matter.

The court further heard that after the incident, the witness searched the accused’s name online and discovered she had previous legal cases involving politicians — prompting him not to pursue any form of settlement with her.

The defence further pressed the witness on whether he recalled having coffee using a white cup earlier that morning. “Yes, I did,” Kiaritha said. “I was blurry.”

He told the court that although he did not obtain a formal medical report, he sought treatment at a Kikuyu-based hospital, where he reported feeling dizzy and confused but did not request a written report.

The accused, Lora Odero, has denied the charge and is out on bail.  The hearing continues.