Kemi Fapohunda

Kemi Fapohunda

Call: 2002

Actions

Kemi has a successful Criminal Practice in both Defence and Prosecution work. She is instructed in the most serious of cases including Attempted Murder, section 18 GBH, aggravated burglary, robbery and serious fraud.

Kemi appears daily in the Crown Court either as a junior alone, leading, or led-counsel. She has also appeared in the Court of Appeal in a number of matters.

Kemi is a persuasive advocate, particularly when it comes to cross-examination and addressing a Jury.

In her Defence practice, Kemi is known for fighting her clients’ cases fearlessly. Her manner is calm, yet confident, which puts both her professional and lay clients at ease.

Kemi is a grade 3 Prosecutor. She is also on the Serious Crime and Fraud Specialist panels.  Kemi endeavours to provide practical advice early on in proceedings to ensure that any gaps in evidence are addressed in advance of trial. In Court, she presents each case fiercely, but fairly and she has the ability to put even the most anxious or nervous witness at ease, enabling them to give their best evidence.

Overall, Kemi’s success is attributable to her excellent advocacy skills, diligence, eye for detail and strong interpersonal skills.

Other areas

Prison Law – Adjudication Hearings and Parole Board Hearings

Written Advice and/or Representation in Appeals against Conviction and/or Sentence in the Crown Court and Court of Appeal

Has successfully represented applicants at Employment Tribunals in Unfair Dismissal, Harassment and Disability Discrimination Claims, pro-bono.

Notable cases

Appellate cases:

R v Nhlanhla Monyai (2011) – Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

 Represented the Appellant in his Appeal against a Sentence of Imprisonment for the Protection of the Public (IPP) imposed for three offences of Rape and one of False Imprisonment. The IPP was quashed and a determinate sentence was imposed.

Defence cases:

R v SO & others (2020) – Southwark Crown Court Currently instructed to represent a defendant who together with five others, faces a charge of entering into a money-laundering arrangement to the value of over £4½m and a further charge of concealing criminal property in the sum of over £800,000

R v JD & Others (2019) – Southwark Crown CourtRepresented defendant charged with conspiracy to fraudulently evade duty .  The value of the evaded duty alleged was over £14m.

R v AB (2018) Harrow Crown Court Successfully represented defendant charged with Possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence.

R v NS (2018) Basildon Crown Court Successfully represented defendant charged with robbery of a taxi driver

R v GS (2017) Wood Green Crown Court Successfully represented defendant charged with Possession of a prohibited firearm

R v AI (2016) – Blackfriars Crown Court  Successfully represented defendant charged with Inflicting GBH with intent. The allegation was that he had attacked the complainant (who knew him), with a bottle at a house party causing a fractured zygoma and other serious injuries. Successful half-time submission made mainly based on identification evidence.

R v PL (2016) – Inner London Crown Court  Successfully represented defendant charged with Robbery, and other related offences. The prosecution alleged the offence was an act ofrevenge against the complainant, who had contributed towards the defendant’s arrest for other matters.

R v FS & two others (2015) – Inner London Crown Court Successfully represented the first defendant charged with inflicting GBH with intent.  She faced trial along side her mother and grandmother who were charged with Affray. They had been involved in a large-scale neighbour dispute in which one complainant received a serious slash wound to herforearm.

JR v AA (2014) – Central Criminal Court Junior Defence Counsel in Murder trial where the defendant was alleged to have attacked and murdered a working prostitute in North London.

R v TZ & Another (2014) Snaresbrook Crown Court  Represented second defendant (aged 15) charged with inflicting GBH with.  The case involved a 14- year old boy was the victim of a very serious assault arising out of a post-code war between rival gangs in East London. Successful half time application made based on identification evidence.

R v HS & Others (2013) – Woolwich Crown Court  Represented second defendant in Revenue Fraud case. The value of the fraud wasapproximately£450,000involvingthewholesaleuseoffalseandhijacked identities.

R v AM & others (2013) – Blackfriars Crown Court  Represented second defendant alleged to have been involved in a large-scale fight involving the use of multiple weapons at a street fair covered by CCTV. AM was charged with affray and possession of a knife, however, following various submissions, a plea to a lesser offence of section 4 of the Public Order Act was accepted on the second day of trial.

R v DG (2012) – Southwark Crown Court  Successfully represented defendant charged with possession with intent to supply and supply of class A drugs, where two police officers claimed to have witnessed the transaction take place.

R v TB (2011) – Wood Green Crown Court  Successfully represented a 15-year old boy charged with attempted murder, in spite of CCTV footage of the incident described by the trial judge in his summing up as “very dramatic”, being placed before the Jury.  The Crown alleged that this was a revenge attack on a rival gang member.

Prosecution Cases

R v RM & Others (2018) – St Albans Crown Court Led Junior Prosecution Counsel in case involving a total of 18 defendants charged with conspiracy to commit fraud in relation to numerous fraudulent Insurance claims for RTA’s, commonly known as the “crash for cash” scam.

R v JW & Others (2017) (2018) – Luton Crown Court Leading Prosecution Counsel in two trials involving a total of nine defendants charged with money laundering offences, arising out of a boiler room fraud.  The total amount involved was approximately £2.8m.

R v O & Others (2016) – Central Criminal Court  Led Junior Prosecution Counsel in case involving ten defendants charged with fraud and money laundering charges. The fraud committed was against the payday lender Wonga Ltd with over 19,000 victims and a value of £3m.

R v AD & AT (2016) – Kingston Crown Court Prosecution Counsel in case of conspiracy to steal and money laundering offences. The defendants who were delivery drivers for the company Yodel stole parcels they were supposed to deliver to customers and sold them online via Amazon.

R v SN (2015) – Central Criminal Court Led Junior Prosecution Counsel in fraud case where the defendant who ran an energy supply brokering company defrauded energy supplier British Gas out of millions of pounds by creating fraudulent documents which enabled business customers to illegally break their contracts.

R v EK & LB (2015) – Snaresbrook Crown Court  Prosecution Counsel in inflicting GBH with intent case, where the victim’s hand was almost completely severed by the defendants, who armed with a “Rambo style” machete, attacked him outside a youth club following an argument that had taken place over Facebook.

R v AJ & MM (2015) – Wood Green Crown Court  Prosecution Counsel in case where the defendants charged with Aggravated Burglary, GBH, ABH, Possession of offensive weapons and firearms offences had broken into a residential address, armed with firearms and knives demanding for money. The father of the household and the youngest son were both seriously assaulted.

Operation Capone (2014) – Blackfriars Crown Court Prosecution Counsel in case involving 14 defendants, who between them faced a total of 69 counts supplying/being concerned in the supply of class A drugs arising from an undercover police test purchase operation.

R v JO – (2014) – Central Criminal Court Prosecution Counsel in case where the defendant charged with possession with intent to supply class A drugs, supplied high purity drugs to order under the guise of a legitimate business. He set up a company that supposedly organised private parties and he claimed that drug related coded messages retrieved from his phone placing orders for “vintage” and “champagne” related to the drinks required by his clients for their parties.

R v MT (2014) – Lewes Crown Court  Prosecuted knifepoint robbery of 15-year-old schoolboy using mainly Hearsay evidence as the victim was too fearful to give evidence.

R v MDS (2014) – Blackfriars Crown Court Prosecution Counsel in firearms case where DNA was the main evidence and the defence was contamination.

R v JM & JW (2014) – Woolwich Crown Court  Prosecution Counsel in large-scale affray, where an arsenal of weapons, including a firearm were present.

R v CW & P (2014) – Isleworth Crown Court Prosecution Counsel in case of large-scale fraud where Oyster cards credited using fraudulently obtained Amex card details were being sold on eBay.

R v J & V (2014) – Inner London Crown Court Prosecution Counsel in fraud and money laundering case where U-cash vouchers were purchased using fraudulently obtained debit/credit card details and laundered through online gambling sites.

R v KC & SS (2014) – Harrow Crown Court Prosecution Counsel in fraud and money laundering case. The first defendant secured short-term employment positions and defrauded his employers of significant sums of money by altering invoices and diverting the funds into the accounts of others including the second defendant. The value of the fraud was over £300,000

R v AA & ST (2013) – Kingston Crown Court Prosecution Counsel in case involving large-scale theft of mail from letter-boxes. Mail stolen contained cheque books and bank cards that were subsequently used fraudulently by the defendants.

R v Smith & 2 Others (2010) – Isleworth Crown Court  Led Junior Prosecution Counsel in fraud trial lasting six-weeks. The first defendant was convicted of operating a fraudulent travel agency that sold top-end air tickets at reduced prices by manipulating the company’s complex booking system in abuse of his position. He benefitted about £2 million. He was also convicted of the related POCA offences.

Menu