A businessman charged with illegal possession of 507 bullets recovered from an apartment yesterday claimed the ammunition belonged to his sister and her husband.
Nurmohamed Ashraf, who is also charged with forgery and giving false information to the police, further told the court that he did not understand why he had been charged, yet he was the one who had informed police about the bullets.
Defending himself before Magistrate Julius Ndegwa, Ashraf claimed his sister Zahra Pote and her husband Mark Allen Pote, who had retired from the US military, had always schemed to kick him out of the apartment they inherited from their mother.
The estranged siblings are battling for control of their mother’s multi-million shilling estate in a separate court.
Metalic box
Yesterday, the suspect claimed his sister and her husband persuaded him to repaint the box containing the bullets and to throw it away from the compound.
“They approached me with this same metallic box which was with the bullets inside. They told me to repaint it and dispose it even if it meant throwing it into the Indian Ocean at Nyali Bridge. It is not possible for a common man like me to own that box,” Ashraf said.
He claimed his brother-in-law then took the box and placed it in one of the rooms on the ground floor and covered it. Noor said he reported the incident to the Mombasa County Deputy Commissioner and the matter was taken to the DCI Urban Police Station.
Ashraf said two officers were sent to search the apartment and he led them to where the box was.
“I want to tell the court openly that the box and bullets belonged to my Sister Zahra and her husband Mark Allan Pote,” he said.
