A magistrate’s court has issued arrest warrants against two businessmen over an alleged Sh4.5 billion fraud at Absa Bank Kenya.
The court ordered the arrest of Charles Hills Jr and Savannah Clinker Ltd director Benson Sande Ndeta after they failed to appear in court to plead to criminal charges.
“A warrant of arrest is hereby issued against the accused, who failed to appear in court to plead to the charges,” the magistrate ordered, instructing police to present the suspects in court on March 18, 2026.
The arrest warrant followed a request by the State prosecutor, who informed the magistrate that the High Court had dismissed a constitutional petition filed by Mr Ndeta seeking to halt his prosecution.
Prosecutors allege the two conspired to defraud Absa Bank Kenya of a $35 million (Sh4.5 billion) loan facility obtained between February 2017 and January 2018 while falsely claiming to act on behalf of Savannah Cement Limited.
Court papers show that Mr Ndeta appeared in court when the case was first filed in November 2024 but did not take a plea after securing orders suspending the proceedings pending determination of his petition.
In December 2025, the High Court dismissed his petition, ruling that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) acted lawfully in authorising the charges.
“I am not persuaded that the petitioner has demonstrated any abuse of prosecutorial discretion or bad faith on the part of the DPP,” the judge ruled, adding that the prosecution was based on evidence and public interest.
“The prosecution enjoys the presumption of legality and ought to proceed, leaving the merits of the allegations to be determined by the trial court,” the High Court judge ruled.
Forgery claims
The court dismissed Mr Ndeta’s petition in its entirety and lifted earlier orders suspending the criminal proceedings. Prosecutors accuse the businessmen of conspiring to defraud Absa Bank by securing the loan using allegedly forged corporate documents.
According to the charge sheet filed by the DPP, the two face 12 counts, including conspiracy to commit fraud and obtaining credit by pretence by misrepresenting themselves as acting for Savannah Cement Limited.
Mr Hills faces additional charges of obtaining execution of security and registration by false pretences and forgery. Prosecutors say he allegedly induced the bank to accept six corporate guarantee loan security documents and forged extracts of board minutes of Savannah Heights Limited.
Mr Ndeta, a Kenyan industrialist and former Savannah Cement executive, separately faces several counts of making documents without authority and uttering false documents. These include a guarantee and indemnity form, a subordination agreement and extracts of company minutes that prosecutors claim were presented to Absa Bank as genuine corporate approvals.
He is also accused of uttering forged documents to an Absa Bank corporate relationship manager to support the loan transaction.
The charge sheet further alleges that Mr Hills forged extracts of board minutes of Savannah Heights Limited and misrepresented himself as a director or chairman of the company when procuring loan security documents.
The prosecution case stems from long-running shareholder disputes at Savannah Cement, one of Kenya’s largest cement producers.
Court records show that in 2016 Mr Ndeta acquired additional shares in Savannah Cement through the investment vehicle Seruji Limited, a transaction that sparked shareholder disputes and litigation involving Savannah Heights Limited and other stakeholders.
The dispute later expanded into investigations over whether corporate documents used in the loan transaction were genuine.
The criminal case was filed at Milimani Law Courts on November 29, 2024, but pleas were deferred due to Mr Ndeta’s High Court petition. With the petition now dismissed, the magistrate’s court has ordered proceedings to begin once the accused are arraigned.
Mr Ndeta’s Savannah Clinker was among the firms that sought to acquire Bamburi Cement two years ago with a Sh27.7 billion offer (Sh76.55 per share). However, the deal collapsed after the alleged fraud investigations and the firm withdrew its bid, leaving Tanzania’s Amsons Group as the sole bidder.
Amsons later acquired Bamburi Cement in December 2024 for Sh23.9 billion.
Court records show that Savannah Cement Limited was the operating cement manufacturing company where Mr Ndeta served as a director and shareholder before leaving to start his own firm, Savannah Clinker. Savannah Heights Limited, meanwhile, was a separate shareholder investment company linked to the ownership structure of Savannah Cement.
In 2016, through a corporate vehicle, Seruji Limited, Ndeta acquired additional shares in Savannah Cement, increasing his ownership stake. The transaction triggered a legal dispute with other stakeholders.
