A German charged with defilement has been denied bond by a Nakuru court.
Senior Resident Magistrate Emmanuel Soita on Wednesday directed that Martin Herman Baumgartner, 62, remains in custody until all key witnesses testify.
Herman is facing 14 charges ranging from defilement to sexual assault among others. The charge sheet shows he committed the offences on diverse dates between 2006 and this year.
The prosecution had, on Monday, applied to have the suspect denied bail on grounds that he is a flight risk, being a dual citizen.
The court was also told that the accused would interfere with witnesses if released as some of them are his employees.
Lawyer Kipkoech Ng'etich, who is representing the victims, supported the prosecution's position that Herman be denied bail.
"Pending the testimony of the victims herein, the accused person shall not be admitted to bond or bail," ordered the court.
The court also added that his two passports shall remain in the custody of DCI, pending the hearing and determination of the case.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions was told that unnecessary adjournment would not be allowed.
The court set Monday, February 27, as the date for the pretrial hearing.
"On that date, we will do a serious pre-trial. We know the number of witnesses so we will work on the timelines. This case has to be concluded as soon as possible," directed the court.
Herman's lawyer Lawrence Karanja asked the court to supply him with a copy of the ruling since there were issues he wished to challenge. He also pleaded with the court to order DCI to release his client's phone, laptop, car keys and ATM cards.
The prosecution opposed the oral application and sought to have the lawyer file a formal application.
