Defence closes in Sh32m Watamu villa fraud case involving two Italians

The hearing of a Sh32 million fraud case involving two Italian nationals accused of defrauding fellow citizens in a disputed Watamu property deal has reached the defence stage, with the court set to hear a prosecution application to call a rebuttal witness.

Daniele Lo Coco and Massimo Nativi are accused of obtaining Sh17 million from Rita Nappo and Sh15 million from Girola Fiorenzo by falsely claiming they could sublease villas to them at Rafiki Village in Watamu between 2018 and 2021.

Giving his defence before Kilifi Chief Magistrate James Mwaniki, Lo Coco denied the allegations, saying the complainants and other occupants had entered into lease agreements rather than property purchase or ownership contracts.

He told the court that Rafiki Limited, whose directors he said were himself and Nativi, transferred management of the property to Rafiki Resort Management through share transfers.

Lo Coco said seven lease agreements had been registered while three remained unregistered, including those relating to Nappo and Fiorenzo.

He also accused a prosecution witness, Armeno Modunyo, of instigating his arrest after allegedly demanding payment to facilitate the closure of investigations.

Lo Coco told the court that Modunyo had introduced himself as Nappo’s lawyer and demanded that Rafiki Limited refund the 140,000 euros she had paid.

He further alleged that Modunyo demanded 30,000 euros in legal fees, an amount he said he refused to pay.

“Modunyo told me to pay him 30,000 euros as legal fees so that the investigations on the matter could be closed. I refused to pay him because he was going to earn money for nothing he had done,” Lo Coco told the court.

The prosecution had earlier closed its case after presenting four witnesses. The court directed the parties to file written submissions within seven days.

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However, the prosecution applied to call a rebuttal witness, prompting the defence to raise concerns over the request.

In his ruling on the application, Chief Magistrate Mwaniki directed the prosecution to formally file and serve its application on the defence within seven days, with the defence also given seven days to respond.

“I note the direction the application by the state to call the rebuttal witness and the concern by the defence is taking, and the court may not be able to make an informed finding on that issue,” Mwaniki said.

He said the formal application would allow the defence to respond and enable the court to make a considered ruling.

The court scheduled the application for hearing on November 19, 2026.

According to the charge sheet, the two accused allegedly obtained Sh17 million from Nappo between August 30, 2018 and August 1, 2019, by pretending they were in a position to sublease Villa No. 5A on land reference number Kilifi/Jimba/1544.

In the second count, they are accused of obtaining Sh15 million from Fiorenzo between March 21, 2020 and February 24, 2021, by allegedly pretending they could sublease Villa No. 4B on the same parcel of land.

The two have denied the charges. The court is yet to determine the case.