US fraudster, Kibaki ally win Sh106bn State deal

By Newsflash Reporter

A company tied to former President Mwai Kibaki’s aide and an American investor previously accused of defrauding US citizens of over Sh1 billion has secured preliminary approval for a Sh106 billion desalination project in Lamu.

The Treasury’s Directorate of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) has allowed Rasli Bahari to move forward with contract talks under a privately initiated proposal (PiP), reminiscent of Gautam Adani’s shelved energy and airport ventures in Kenya.

Rasli Bahari is co-owned by Stanley Murage, a close advisor during Kibaki’s presidency, and Verley Lee “Rocky” Sembritzky, the American businessman charged in 2020 by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Records show Murage holds 64.5% of the firm through Prime Investments Limited, while Sembritzky controls 32.2%.

Investor’s fraud past raises red flags

The SEC accused Sembritzky of misleading investors into giving him $7.2 million (Sh936 million) for a fictitious desalination project in Kenya. Instead, he allegedly diverted most of the money for personal luxuries including a $2 million (Sh257.86 million) condo for his then-wife, expensive cars, jewellery, and watches. Only $650,000 (Sh8.3 million) was actually used for the intended project.

Though Rasli Bahari now claims Sembritzky died in October 2022, there is no official death filing with the Registrar of Companies, and his name still appears on the firm’s CR-12 records as of July 29, 2025. Corporate law dictates that upon a shareholder’s death, shares should be transferred to their estate. “A deceased person cannot sign a share transfer certificate,” explained Bernard Kiragu, a corporate governance expert.

Despite the unresolved ownership issue, Rasli Bahari is continuing with the Sh106 billion project, which will extract salt from seawater for human, industrial, and agricultural use. PPP records indicate that the project received the green light for contract negotiations in April 2025.

Shareholding dispute and fresh fundraising

Rasli Bahari has attempted to distance itself from the controversy. “The business is now fully owned by Prime Investments and other shareholders. Rocky’s death severed all his ties with the company. His shares are pending transfer,” said managing director David Kinyua in an email.

The company says the delay in share transfer is due to a lack of communication from the executor of Sembritzky’s estate. Meanwhile, Rasli Bahari is engaging new investors and financial institutions, including a Development Finance Institution (DFI) expected to take a 30% stake. The company aims to raise between Sh64.7 billion and Sh77.6 billion ($500–600 million) in the next 30 months. “We’ve already spent around $20 million (Sh2.59 billion) on the project,” said Kinyua.

Questions linger over why the PPP directorate proceeded without verifying Rasli Bahari’s updated shareholder structure, especially since the alleged death of Sembritzky predates the project’s approval.