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Post Reply: Nairobi Businessman Cleared in Sh13.7 Million Counterfeit Case

<blockquote><div class="quotetitle">Quote from <a class="profile-link highlight-moderator" href="https://lawguide.co.ke/understanding-law/legal-forum/profile/lawyer/">Lawyer</a> on September 15, 2025, 1:39 pm</div><div id="pl-7912"  class="panel-layout" ><div id="pg-7912-0"  class="panel-grid panel-no-style" ><div id="pgc-7912-0-0"  class="panel-grid-cell"  data-weight="1" ><div id="panel-7912-0-0-0" class="so-panel widget widget_sow-editor panel-first-child panel-last-child" data-index="0" data-style="{&quot;background_image_attachment&quot;:false,&quot;background_display&quot;:&quot;tile&quot;,&quot;background_image_size&quot;:&quot;full&quot;,&quot;background_image_opacity&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;border_thickness&quot;:&quot;1px&quot;}" ><div
			
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	<p dir="ltr" data-pm-slice="1 1 []">Nairobi businessman, Mukinyi Mwakavi, and his company, Wincop Services Limited, have been acquitted of charges related to possessing and manufacturing counterfeit goods valued at Sh13.7 million. The ruling, delivered by Milimani Chief Magistrate Susan Shitubi, came after the court determined that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt due to lost or tampered evidence.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Mwakavi faced two charges under the Anti-Counterfeit Act of 2008: possession of counterfeit goods worth Sh9.7 million and producing counterfeit products valued at Sh4 million. The charges stemmed from a raid conducted by officers from the Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA), alongside investigators from Halliday Finch, representing Hewlett-Packard. The operation targeted Mwakavi’s shops on Tsavo Road in Nairobi’s Central Business District, where authorities allegedly seized counterfeit toners, cartridges, and tools used in their production.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The seized items were initially transported to the ACA depot at Kyangombe and later moved to a storage facility in Athi River. However, during the trial, it became evident that critical evidence was missing. Prosecution witnesses, under cross-examination by defense lawyer John Ochieng Ogada, assisted by Beth Njeru, admitted that samples taken for testing had been disposed of before being presented in court. Additionally, no records documenting the transfer of goods from Kyangombe to Athi River were provided.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Ogada argued that the absence of these records and the disposal of exhibits indicated clear tampering, undermining the chain of custody and rendering the prosecution’s case unreliable. Magistrate Shitubi concurred, stating in her judgment that the integrity of the prosecution’s case was compromised due to the disappearance or interference with many of the exhibits.</p>
<p dir="ltr">While Mwakavi and Wincop Services Limited were acquitted, the court ordered that the seized goods be forfeited to the state.</p>
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Post Reply: Nairobi Businessman Cleared in Sh13.7 Million Counterfeit Case

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