Senator's husband charged over car ownership, cybercrime allegations

Christopher Munene, husband of Senator Tabitha Mutinda at Milimani Law Courts where he was charged with forgery, cybercrime, and fraudulent transfer of ownership in a disputed Toyota Prado case. [Nancy Gitonga, Standard]

Christopher Munene, husband of Senator Tabitha Mutinda, has been charged in a Nairobi court over alleged forgery and cybercrime linked to a Toyota Prado ownership dispute.

Munene, who appeared before Milimani Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina on Monday, denied all charges and a plea of not guilty was entered on five counts of forgery, cybercrime and obtaining registration by false pretences in a disputed vehicle ownership case involving a Toyota Prado.

According to the charge sheet filed by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Munene is accused of forging a motor vehicle registration certificate for a Toyota Prado KBX121Q and fraudulently altering ownership records to reflect different registered owners, including Maureen Tabitha Mutinda and Rocx Crest Group Limited.

The prosecution also alleges that on September 30, 2024, Munene presented a forged logbook at Mogo Auto Limited and later at the National Transport and Safety Authority headquarters, where he is said to have unlawfully obtained a registration certificate by falsely claiming ownership of the vehicle.

He further faces a charge under the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act for illegally accessing his wife, Maureen Tabitha Mutinda's, eCitizen account and transferring ownership of the vehicle without authorisation.

In court, defence lawyer Eric Muriuki urged the magistrate to defer plea-taking, arguing the matter could be resolved through negotiations.

“We are requesting that the plea taking be deferred to another day and the accused be released either on bail or on his own recognisance so that we can come back, very likely with an agreement,” he told the court.

“The parties have instructed us to try and defer the matter at least until before the plea taking. We will then have discussions and come back. If there is no agreement, we can proceed with plea taking.”

The court heard that the dispute stemmed from a matrimonial relationship.

“She wishes to have, and does not oppose the deferment of the plea on grounds that there is a matrimonial relationship between the complainant and the suspect,” part of the submissions noted.

The prosecution, while not opposing bail, confirmed readiness to proceed with the matter.

Court records show that Munene was arrested on June 12, 2026, without a warrant and presented in court the same day.

Magistrate Onyina directed the prosecution to supply all relevant documents to the defence.

The court released him on a Sh200,000 bond or Sh100,000 cash bail.

The matter will be mentioned on July 1, 2026, for further directions as the court prepares for the pre-trial proceeding.