Italian nationals Daniele Lo Coco and Massimo Nativi appear before Kilifi Chief Magistrate James Mwaniki on Monday, June 29, 2026 for the ruling of whether they will be granted their passports or not in a Sh. 32 million fraud case. Photo by Ben Okweingoti. 
By Ben Okweingoti.
Two Italian nationals accused of defrauding fellow Italians of more than Sh32 million have appeared before a Kilifi court as their long-running criminal case resumed following a series of legal battles in higher courts.
Daniele Lo Coco and Massimo Nativi appeared before Kilifi Chief Magistrate James Mwaniki, who is expected to rule on whether the two accused persons should have their passports returned as the proceedings continue.
The two are facing charges of allegedly defrauding fellow Italian nationals Fiorenzo Girola, Rosa Tettamanzi and Rita Nappo in transactions amounting to approximately Sh32 million.
The accused had previously sought to halt the criminal proceedings through various court applications, but their efforts proved unsuccessful after the Court of Appeal cleared the way for the case to proceed.
On May 15, 2026, the Court of Appeal in Mombasa directed that the criminal proceedings before the Kilifi court continue. The appellate court's decision arose from an appeal filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), represented by prosecutor Joseph Mwangi Kamanu, challenging earlier decisions made by the High Court in Malindi presided over by Justice Thande.
The High Court had earlier suspended the criminal proceedings pending before the Kilifi court. It had also ordered police to halt further investigations against the two accused persons and restrained the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions from prosecuting them until the matter before the High Court was fully determined.
However, the DPP successfully moved to the Court of Appeal, initially obtaining a stay of the High Court orders before ultimately securing a favourable ruling.
In its judgment delivered on May 15, 2026, the Court of Appeal allowed the DPP's appeal in its entirety, setting aside all orders issued by the High Court in Malindi and paving the way for the resumption of criminal investigations and court proceedings against the two accused persons.
The pair have also suffered another legal setback in a separate matter before the Environment and Land Court.
Justice Makori dismissed an application by the defence seeking to strike out proceedings filed by Matteo Campanini, who accuses Lo Coco and Nativi of selling two apartments allegedly developed on irregular land titles.
According to court records, the accused persons, through Tamu Rafiki Real Estate Ltd, a company owned by foreign shareholders, allegedly acquired Title Deed No. 1870 in contravention of Article 65 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, which restricts foreign ownership of freehold land.
The title was subsequently converted into leasehold tenure and subdivided into parcels numbered 2917, 2918, 2919 and 2920, where apartments were allegedly constructed and sold to Italian nationals, including Campanini and his aunt.
Justice Makori ruled that the issues raised by the claimant warrant a full hearing on merit and dismissed the defence's arguments that the case was frivolous and vexatious.
The criminal case in Kilifi is now set to proceed as the court awaits a ruling on the accused persons' passports and further directions on the hearing.
