By PAUL OGEMBA (pogemba@ke.nationmedia.com)
Posted Monday, August 15 2011 at 13:39
Posted Monday, August 15 2011 at 13:39
Two foreigners arrested last week for attempting to con a Kenya human rights official Omar Hassan were on Monday charged in a Nairobi court with conspiracy to commit a felony.
Sierra Leonean John Benjamin and Ghanaian Larbi Kwasi were accused of conspiracy to obtain US$ 95,000 from Mr Hassan by pretending that they could “clean” dollars.
Mr Hassan is a member of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).
Mr Kwasi faced three other counts of being in Kenya unlawfully, failing to report entry into Kenya and failing to register as an alien.
It was alleged that on August 9, Mr Kwasi was found to be illegally in the country after police officers discovered that he had no permit or pass authorising him to be in the country.
They denied the charges and their plea to be released on bail was objected to by the prosecution who submitted that the accused are likely to abscond since they are foreigners.
They argued through their lawyer Ishmael Nyaribo that being foreigners is not enough reason to deny them bail, and that they are legally in Kenya with valid Kenyan visas.
“My clients have been in the country on several occasions with wide ranging business interests. They have no plans to skip court proceedings at any time they will be required to,” said Mr Nyaribo.
He said that Mr Kwasi’s passport has been confirmed to be genuine by the Ghanaian Embassy and that the Constitution does not discriminate against foreigners in granting cash bail.
Principal magistrate Grace Macharia allowed the prosecution request to have the two remanded in police custody for three days to have their passports verified. The case will be mentioned on August 18.
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