BY ROB JILLO
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| null     1/1 NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 26 - Makadara Member of Parliament Gidion Kioko Mbuvi alias Mike Sonko has finally been freed on a Sh1.5 million bail in two fraud cases he is facing. Mr Mbuvi who has been in custody since Tuesday was set free by Kibera Principal Magistrate Cecilia Githua. Police had initially objected to his release arguing they had not completed investigations in a number of cases the Makadara legislator is facing, but relaxed their stance when the case was mentioned on Friday. Ms Githua granted Mr Mbuvi a bond of Sh1 million in a case in which he is accused of obtaining Sh2.8 million by false pretence from Tile and Carpet Centre way back in 2006. The MP allegedly obtained the money as a 10 percent down payment for the sale of a piece of land in Kwale claiming that it was valid for sale. He was also charged with another offence of obtaining Sh500,000 from Patience Chepchumba Kogo claiming he was in a position to sell her a motor vehicle. In this charge, he was given a bond of Sh500,000 or a cash bail of Sh300,000. When Mr Mbuvi’s bid to be freed was opposed on Tuesday, the prosecutor had told the court that the CID wanted him detained since he had jumped bail a number of times, and cited one incident in April 1998 when he allegedly escaped from custody. But Mr Mbuvi denied the accusation, saying he was freed from detention by the High Court. Police had also raised concerns over the MP's many aliases that include Mike Munga Musa, Hamisi Musa Swaleh, Michael Muoki and Norwal Muoki. In addition, he was said to have committed several other offences in Nairobi and Mombasa. Some of the cases listed in which there are pending warrants include; Case 1043/2008 in which he was arrested and released on a police bond of Sh50,000 on April 30, 2008. He did not appear for plea which was scheduled for May 5, 2008. A warrant of arrest is still pending. Another warrant is pending for another case in which he is accused of obtaining Sh13 million by false pretence from Roehr Hans Joachim. He also has another pending case 8635/2000 over three counts of forgery, issuing a false document and obtaining by false pretences. He absconded and a warrant of arrest was issued by the then Chief Magistrate Catherine Mwangi on August 4, 2005. The MP denied the claims and instead accused police of failing to execute the said warrant. His lawyers Paul Muite and Cecil Miller wondered why police failed to arrest him if indeed he jumped bail as they claimed. They told the court that Mr Mbuvi has been a frequent visitor to Kibera law courts in 2006 and 2007 over a number of traffic cases and police should have taken action then. Mr Mbuvi spent the better part of Monday recording a statement at the CID Headquarters on Kiambu Road before he was moved to the Kibera law courts shortly before 5pm. He was later moved to the Gigiri Police station where he was booked in to spend the night. Soon after the court session, police sealed off the court precincts after youths chanting pro-Mbuvi slogans thronged the area. Members of the public found it difficult to enter and leave the courts as police weighed the situation but did not use any force. |
Read more: http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/Kenyanews/Sonko-finally-freed-on-bail-10651.html#ixzz16Q0gfpj3
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