The controversial lifestyle of Nairobi businessman Paul Kobia
Shadowy businessman Paul Kobia alias Paul Ilunga Ngoei, is set to be arraigned n Thursday after over a Sh173 million gold scam after he was arrested on Wednesday morning alongside his employees.
But Kobia has never fallen short of controversy and facing off with the police has been his thing for a while now.
In March, a video made rounds on social media capturing expensive cars inside a compound located along Riverside in Kilimani.
In the clip, Mr Kobia introduced himself as the fourth in command after President Uhuru Kenyatta, DP William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga.
It is the same compound, which serves as his office, that detectives attached to the Special Crime Unit at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) raided on Wednesday in search of crucial documents linked to an ongoing investigation where a Dubai national lost Sh173 million in a gold deal.
“We received complaints from a foreigner that he had lost millions to a fake gold syndicate and that is how we decided to raid his home,” said a source within the DCI.
FIDEL’S DEATH
The sleuths also carted away a number of documents from the office which they believe will assist in the ongoing investigations. In addition, two vehicles were impounded and taken to the DCI headquarters along Kiambu Road.
When detectives stormed into the compound at 10am, Mr Kobia was among those in the office and at 3pm, journalists spotted him standing side by side with two detectives as he smoked a cigarette.
At one point he was shouting on top of his voice attracting onlookers who peeped through his compound.
His habit of shouting and causing a scene can be traced back to 2015 when police pounced on him as he was shouting near Village Market, bragging that he was responsible for the death of Fidel Odinga, son of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
He was arrested and later rushed to Chiromo Lane Medical Center for mental assessment after he became violent to officers and inmates at the Gigiri Police Station.
GOLD SMUGGLING
In March 2017, Mr Kobia was arrested and arraigned for assaulting a Congolese man identified as Blanchard Londole in Kindaruma, Kilimani.
Police say he abducted Mr Londole and assaulted him claiming that he owed him Sh40 million.
And when he appeared in court to take plea on the assault charges, Mr Kobia started screaming and shouting demanding that he should be freed to seek treatment.
Police officers for the last three years have confiscated three different guns from him in three incidents.
Mr Kobia, who does not have one finger on his left hand, was in November 2011 mentioned in a 392 page UN report on gold smuggling from Congo.
In 2010, he was arrested and charged with pretending to sell 825kg of gold and obtaining Sh17.4 million from a South African identified as Dennis Ray.