By Andrew Kariuki

A woman has been arraigned before the Milimani Law Courts facing multiple criminal charges linked to the alleged fraudulent transfer of motor vehicle ownership records through the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) system.

Leah Muthoni Kiongo was charged with several offences, including forgery, obtaining registration by false pretences and unauthorized access to a computer system.

According to court documents, prosecutors allege that on May 19, 2021, Kiongo, together with other individuals who have not been charged, forged documents purportedly used to facilitate the transfer of ownership of motor vehicles registration numbers KBS 771E and KBK 391B.

The prosecution claims that the forged documents included affidavits seeking the change of a mobile phone number within the NTSA system. The documents allegedly purported to bear genuine signatures and were used to facilitate ownership transfers from the registered owner, Stephen Kiongo Karuku.

In a separate count, Kiongo is accused of obtaining motor vehicle registration certificates through false pretences. The prosecution alleges that she knowingly misrepresented that the logbooks had been validly issued by the Directorate of Registration and Licensing at NTSA, leading to the acquisition of registration documents for the two vehicles.

She also faces charges under the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act. Investigators allege that on May 20, 2021, she unlawfully accessed and manipulated the NTSA computer system by bypassing security controls and altering vehicle ownership records without authorization. The ownership records were allegedly changed to reflect a different individual as the registered owner.

The accused was presented before the court after being arrested on June 9, 2026.