Mombasa businessman charged with illegal bullets possession has case to answer - court

Noor Mohamed during the hearing of his case at the Mombasa law court in Mombasa County on February 4, 2019. [Kelvin Karani, Standard].

A Mombasa businessman charged with being in possession of ammunition without a firearm license was found to have a case to answer.

Noor Mohamed was placed on his defence few minutes after the Investigating Officer in the case finished testifying.

He was charged with being in possession of 507 bullets without a permit, forging documents and giving false information to the police in an attempt the public viewed as his plan to frame his sister.

The investigating officer in the case, Inspector Nathan Kipyatich, while testifying before the prosecution closed its case told the court the blank ammunition were found in a room where the accused person lives.

“What I can confirm in this court is that the blank ammunition were in his room since I was among the team that was conducting the search, and what I know is that we were not told if he lived with anyone in the room but it seems he lived alone,” said Inspector Kipyatich while testifying before Principal Magistrate Charles Ndegwa.

The investigating officer further clarified that indeed the accused person reported that there was a box with cartridges in one of the rooms that belonged to his sister and foreigner husband and even carried some bullets while reporting, but found the box in the accused person’s house.

“Every charge that I put against the accused person is not false since I did so according to the investigations we concluded prompting me to place the current charges against the accused person,” said Inspector Kipyatich while being cross-examined by Noor’s lawyer Gikandi Ngibuini.

Inspector Kipyatich was with his then boss Francis Kipsang who while testifying sometimes last year told the court in the course of his investigation he discovered that the accused held vendetta against his sister Zahara Pote and his sister’s husband Allen Pote.

“The accused person lied to me that the rounds of ammunition were brought by his brother-in-law Allen,” said Kipsang while emphasising that the accused presented three rounds of ammunition to the DCI officers, claiming, falsely, that he had recovered them from his sister’s house.

 Noor will defend himself on April 1.