Saturday June 3, 2023
Mohamed Abdi at the Makadara Law Courts in Nairobi. PHOTO | JOSEPH NDUNDA
A 27-year-old businessman in Nairobi has been charged with issuing death threats to a business partner he is accused of conning more than Sh2 million.
Mr Mohamed Abdi was remanded by Senior Resident Magistrate Mercy Malingu of Makadara Law Courts after the prosecution made an application to have him denied bail and bonds.
Corporal Hussein Hassan of Pangani Police Station filed an affidavit stating that Mr Abdi made two attempts to flee the country knowing he had a pending case.
Mr Abdi is facing charges of threatening to kill Abdirahaman Abdile along Chai Road in Pangani, Nairobi on May 28, 2023.
Mr Abdi is said to have uttered words “ukanifunga na uliniangaisha kwa cell ya polisi lakini nilitoka na pesa zangu na niko huru juu nilirejeshewa passport zangu nitakuua na nitorokee Somalia mahali sitawahi patikana” to Mr Abdile.
And police together with the office of the director of public prosecution believe the words amounted to death threats to Mr Abdile.
Mr Abdile was walking along Chai Road with a friend when they met Mr Abdi who stopped them and allegedly uttered the words to the complainant but Mr Abdi denied the charges before Ms Malingu.
Mr Abdi is said to have issued the threats days after he was released from Pangani Police Station where he was briefly detained following his arrest in Nakuru County on May 24 where Cpl. Hassan said he was arrested by the police while headed to Congo.
Cpl. Hassan said the suspect was leaving the country after he was charged with fraud. He had been released on cash bail.
“On May 31st, 2023, he (Mr Abdi) was arrested again at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) enroute to Somalia through a stop order, which had been placed to prevent him from leaving the country,” Cpl. Hassan stated in his affidavit filed before Ms Malingu.
Cpl. Hassan had attached Mr Abdi’s entry permit to the Federal Republic of Somalia dated May 30, 2023 and a copy of a reservation air ticket from an airline issued on the same date.
The police officer said the suspect has no permanent residence and has proved to be a flight risk and if freed on bond and bail may abscond from the jurisdiction of the court.
He had asked the magistrate to consider the nature of offence Mr Abdi was facing and attendant penalty, the character and the antecedents of the accused person and the relationship between the suspect and witnesses in the case.
Ms Malingu said police and prosecution had proven that the suspect tried to leave the country twice knowing he had a case in court. The suspect will remain in custody until Mr Abdile testifies. The magistrate gave the suspect 14 days to appeal the decision to remand him.
Mr Abdi has also been charged with fraudulently obtaining $18,000 from Mr Abdile contrary to section 315 of the penal code. He is reported to have committed the offence on February 20, 2022 in Eastleigh where he had promised Mr Abdile that he would use the money to start a joint business.
The suspect, who denied that charge, was also denied bail and bond for the second charge. Both cases will be mentioned on July 19, 2023 before hearing starts on October 12, 2023.