Kenyan Court Issues Arrest Warrant for Benson Ndeta

A Nairobi court has issued an arrest warrant for Benson Ndeta, a prominent Kenyan industrialist, and his co-accused Charl Hill Jr. for failing to appear in court regarding fraud charges linked to a loan of SH4.5 billion (approximately $35 million) obtained from Absa Bank Kenya. The arrest order was issued by a magistrate at the Milimani Law Court on March 5, following the dismissal of Ndeta's constitutional petition aimed at halting the criminal proceedings.

The prosecution alleges that Ndeta and Hill conspired to fraudulently obtain the credit facility between February 2017 and January 2018 by misrepresenting themselves as representatives of Savannah Cement Limited. The charges include 12 counts of conspiracy to commit fraud and obtaining credit under false pretenses.

Ndeta's first court appearance was in November 2024, but proceedings were temporarily halted pending the outcome of his constitutional petition, which was dismissed in December 2025. Ndeta co-founded Savannah Cement and has been involved in various business ventures, including a failed acquisition of Savannah Clinker.