Solai dam owner seeks court's permission to travel to India

Patel dam in the aftermath of the collapse. [File, Standard]

Perry Manusukh Kanasagara, the Solai dam owner who has been charged with 48 counts of manslaughter, has moved to court seeking permission to travel out of the country next week.

Manusukh, who is among the nine suspects facing the charges, wants the court to release his passport and allow him to travel to India on August 9.

This came as the pre-trial for the nine suspects in the Solai dam tragedy failed to start, with the prosecution seeking more time to present witness statements.

Manusukh, through his lawyer Tom Ojienda, told the court that he has a custodial case in India and wanted to travel between August 9 and 14.

Ojienda told Naivasha Principal Magistrate Joseph Karanja that his client would abide by the law and return the passport on August 15. State counsel Victor Owiti said the prosecution was not opposed to the accused travelling out of the country.

The court will make a ruling on the passport application on August 7 while the pre-trial date was set for September 10.