BY IRENE ONYANGO.
A Nairobi court will on Tuesday rule whether it will allow an application to detain former NTV news anchor, Swaleh Salim and five others for two weeks as sought by the police.
Milimani Principal Magistrate Ben Mark Ekhubi directed Swaleh and five others suspects be held at Capitol Hill police station overnight as he considered the prosecution’s application.
Swaleh was arrested alongside Otieno Japolo Michael, Terry Kemunto Sese, Daniel Omondi Gogo, John Musundi Wabomba and James William Mokoha over claims of conspiracy to defraud foreigners in fake tenders.
The Director of Criminal Investigations sought to detain the director of press at the Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi’s office for 14 days, pending conclusion into the scam.
The police said they are investigating the six over conspiracy to commit a felony, attempt to obtain money by false pretence and personating a person employed by the public.
In a miscellaneous application filed by Inspector Nicholas Njoroge, the prosecution stated that the six were arrested on June 23, in Director Press Service on suspicions of having committed various offences.
Njoroge states that the complainants are foreigners from Dubai and South Africa respectively who were lured to the country with an aim of securing a tender to contract two stadia for the upcoming AFCON 2027 games.
According to Njoroge, the complainants were made to believe that after the meeting at Prime cabinet secretary office, they would meet other Government officals from the ministry of Interior, Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, two senators from budget commitee of parliament and sport commitee with an aim of securing the tender of building the two stadia.
The officer said that upon entering the said office, Swaleh peved way allowing the other suspects to hold a meeting with the foreigners where Japolo personated himself as the chairman of Government delivery unit domiciled at the office of the prime cabinet secretary and would assist the foreigners in speeding up the tendering process.
It is alleged that the complainants were to defrauded Sh5,850,000 as a registartion fee before securing the tender.
The court heard that the respondents breached security protocal by entering the office of Prime cabinet Secretary without appointment thus need to investigate who aided their entry and other possible missions.
“We need more time to record statements from the math Contractor bered in UAE and who was silo a victims, to attain company registrations detalls from relevant offices in kenya, Dubai and South Africa”, the officer said.
He added that the nature of the investigation is complex as it involves foreigners and communication channel must observe diplomatic protocol thus sufficient time it needed to get the responses.
Further, Njoroge told the court that the respondents are likely to interfere with the witnesses if released.
