Kitengela Family Sues Equity Bank Over Suspicious Withdrawal of Fixed Deposit Funds
colokeba 
Concerns are growing among many Kenyans after a troubling story emerged involving a businessman from Kitengela and a large sum of money that disappeared from a bank account without the knowledge of the owners.
The incident has caused shock, confusion, and deep worry about how such a huge amount of money could move without anyone being alerted.
The matter came to light when lawyer and activist Wahome Thuku shared the details on his Facebook page.
He described the experience of his friend, Isaac Mwangi, who had trusted that his family’s savings were safe inside a joint fixed deposit account.
Isaac had opened the account together with his siblings, Mary Karanja and Joseph Kinuthia, and their father, David Kariuki Karangi. They expected the money to stay untouched as the account continued to earn interest.
Instead, they found themselves dealing with a situation they never imagined.
The discovery happened by accident. Isaac was speaking to a bank employee about a completely unrelated issue when the staff member asked whether he had closed his fixed deposit account.
This question shocked him because he had never withdrawn a single cent.
When he asked for clarification and heard that the account being referenced contained Ksh10 million, he immediately felt something was wrong.
He rushed to the branch to seek answers, only to be given a statement showing the balance had dropped to zero.
The money was gone.This unexpected loss quickly turned into a legal battle. Isaac and his siblings have now taken Equity Bank, Marina Group Limited, and a woman named Lucy W. Muturi to court. They believe that their money was removed through a fraudulent scheme involving all three parties.
According to the documents they filed, the fixed deposit account had been opened in September 2024 with Ksh10,464,725. The family only learned of the missing funds in July 2025, months after the money had been taken.
The bank told them that the withdrawal happened because of a court order linked to a case Marina Group filed in November 2024 at the Embu Law Courts.
In that case, Marina Group claimed that the estate of Isaac’s father owed them nearly Ksh20 million for farm machinery.
However, their father was alive at the time the case was filed and only passed away in February 2025. The family strongly denies the debt and says the bank had no right to release funds from a joint account without consulting them.
Suspicion deepened when they learned that the consent filed in the Embu case targeted an entirely different account at the Ngong Branch.
Despite this, on 14 December 2024, the bank allegedly deducted money from their fixed deposit account and transferred it to Marina Group’s lawyers. Isaac says no one from the bank ever contacted them, warned them, or gave them a chance to defend their funds before the money was moved.In the case now before the Milimani courts, the siblings accuse Marina Group and Lucy Muturi of fraud.
They also accuse Equity Bank of negligence, conspiracy, and failing in its duty to protect their money. They are asking the court to hold all three defendants responsible and to compel them to refund the full amount with interest, as well as cover the legal costs.
Wahome Thuku has said he will keep monitoring the matter, and many Kenyans are closely watching to see how this serious case will unfold, especially because it raises important questions about trust, transparency, and the safety of bank customers.
