You would think the courtroom is where truth stands tall. Well, not quite, especially when someone allegedly sneaks in a forged court order to lock a shareholder out of a billion-shilling fight.

In the latest chapter of the never-ending SportPesa shareholder wars, businessman Paul Ndung’u found himself benched not by the law, but by what turned out to be a fake court order. The document, which supposedly barred him from dealing in Pevans East Africa (the original owner of the SportPesa brand), was slipped into court records, misleading even the judges of the Court of Appeal.

The genuine High Court order was only a two-week interim restraint. The forged one, however, stated that the restriction would last indefinitely. And just like that, Mr Ndung’u was locked out of proceedings that directly affected his interests, including the hotly contested use of the SportPesa trademark by Milestone Games, a rival company formed by some of his former business partners.

But the truth eventually surfaced. The Court of Appeal, this time with Justices Daniel Musinga, Mumbi Ngugi and George Odunga, revisited the case and essentially said, “Hold on, that order was not even real.” They reversed their earlier decision and restored Mr Ndung’u’s right to participate in the matter. The judges noted that the impugned injunction had lapsed by operation of law and that Milestone Games had not challenged that fact.

Now, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has stepped in to investigate a top lawyer for alleged forgery. This development could cause significant ripples in legal circles if the allegations are proven true.

Behind the courtroom drama lies a power struggle that reads like a corporate soap opera: expulsions, share dilution, foreign investors, and a brand that continues to generate billions under a new company. For Mr Ndung’u, the fight is not merely about money; it is about reclaiming his place at the table he helped to build