Malindi court slaps Sh60 million bonds on elderly suspects

A group of Elderly men from right ,Ramadhan Idd Ramadhan, Abbakar Omar Konbo, Musa Hassan Juma, Juma Omar Korshen, Juma Hassan Juma and Saburi Shebani Saburi at Malindi court on Wednesday,017th October,2018 in Kilifi County. They denied the charges before the Malindi Chief Magistrate Julie Oseko fraud charges and were freed on Sh. 20 million bond each with similar surety. [Photo: Nehemiah Okwembah/Standard]

Six men charged with land fraud have been released on a Sh20 million bond.

Ramadhan Idd Ramadhan, Abbakar Omar Konbo, Musa Hassan Juma, Juma Omar Korshen, Juma Hassan Juma and Saburi Shebani Saburi denied the charges before Malindi Chief Magistrate Julie Oseko.

The six are charged with defrauding a family of land valued at Sh700 million and were ordered to present two sureties of the same amount.

Their lawyer, Stephen Macharia Kimani, pleaded with the court to give his clients reasonable bond terms, arguing that they were not a flight risk since they did not have passports.

“All the accused except one are above the age of 65 years, and none of them is a flight risk,” said the lawyer.

Dr Oseko said the bond amount was arrived at based on the value of the land stated in the charge sheet.

On Monday, the magistrate had ordered a lifestyle audit on the six accused before she could rule on their bond terms. A probation officer presented his report in court, stating that the accused came from humble families.

Humble families

“I have also looked at all those issues and I will give them Sh20 million bond with two sureties,” Oseko said.

According to their lawyer, the six were first arrested in March this year. He said police released them on a Sh60, 000 police bond and told them that they would be called back, only for an arrest warrant to be issued against them.

“After we learnt of the warrant of arrest, which we were not served, my clients surrendered before court and were arrested,” argued Mr Kimani.

The charges against the six state that on diverse dates between February 9, 2011 and September 11, 2012, jointly with others not before the court, they conspired to defraud Salim Abdalla Bakshuwein and Ali Abdalla Bakshuwein of land measuring 359.91 acres and valued at Sh500 million.

According to court documents, the said land belongs to the father of the complainants, Liwali Sheikh Bin Khaflan, now deceased.

The six are also accused of obtaining a grant of letters of administration and a certificate of confirmation of the grant at the Mombasa High Court purporting to be the administrators of the estate.

The five are also accused of conspiring to defraud the complainants of a 85.85 acre piece of land at Furunzi area valued at Sh240 million between February and September 2011.

Conspiring to defraud

Two of the suspects, Ramadhan Idd Ramadhan and Abubakar Omar Kombo, faced a count of falsely swearing themselves as the administrators of the property of Mr Khaflan.

Ramadhan is also charged with falsely swearing to be the administrator of the two properties at the Maurice Mkan and Company Advocates offices in Mombasa in February 2011.

Ramadhan and Kombo are accused of swearing a false affidavit as being the administrators of the said properties, giving false information to the deputy registrar of the High Court in Mombasa and uttering a false document.

The families of the accused, who filled the courtroom, started shouting when the bond ruling was made.