A Milimani Court will on Wednesday rule on whether two prime suspects accused of obtaining over USD 447,000 through false pretences will be detained for 10 days pending investigations.
Appearing before Milimani Magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), through the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), sought orders to detain Kache Mildred alias Sabreena Ayesha and Ahmed Bashar Mohamed to allow detectives to complete investigations into the alleged fraud.
According to the DCI, the first respondent, Kache Mildred, was arrested while allegedly attempting to climb over a perimeter wall before she was intercepted by officers from the Nairobi Regional DCI unit.
Investigators described her as the mastermind and coordinator of the alleged fraudulent scheme, adding that efforts to trace and arrest other accomplices are still ongoing.
Regarding the second respondent, Ahmed Bashar Mohamed, the DCI told the court that he had previously evaded arrest until intelligence gathered from various security agencies and human sources enabled investigators to trace and apprehend him.
However, the application was strongly opposed by a team of defence lawyers led by city advocates Danstan Omari, Dewane Mohamed, and Nuur Mohamed, who argued that there were no sufficient grounds to justify the detention of the suspects.
Omari told the court that his client, Kache Mildred, is a Kenyan citizen, a mother of three children, and therefore not a flight risk.
“My client is a young mother blessed with three children. Her place of abode is known and, in fact, she takes care of her elderly mother who is over 70 years old,” said Omari.
Lawyers representing Ahmed Bashar Mohamed also urged the court to release their client, arguing that he had already expressed willingness to cooperate with investigators.
They further stated that Ahmed is merely a taxi driver earning a modest income.
“This is a young Kenyan who was arrested simply after receiving payment for services rendered. He has a known place of abode and has already indicated his willingness to cooperate with the police,” lawyer Nuur Mohamed submitted.
The two suspects are accused of defrauding Terry Lee Schrubb Jnr and Kenneth J. Adler of USD 447,000 by allegedly pretending to be genuine gold dealers capable of exporting gold consignments from Kenya to Dubai.