Two Indian ship captains charged in Mombasa for wrongful declaration at port

Sumra Suleiman Umar at the Mombasa Court on Thursday 5th April 2018, where he denied giving false report in relation to cargo on board in his motor vessel. [Photo by Kelvin Karani/Standard]

The captains of two vessels yesterday denied falsely declaring cargo worth Sh77 million.

Sumra Suleman Umar, the captain of Haseena, and Gajjan Mahamad Suleiman of Uweesh Karni were accused of giving false information to the Kenya Revenue Aiuthority's customs officers at Mtongwe anchorage. They declared less cargo than what was aboard the India-registered ships.

Resident Magistrate Christine Ogweno released Umar on a Sh4 million bond with two Kenyan sureties in the same similar amount while Suleiman was given a Sh2 million bond.

The magistrate also ordered the two, who could not speak English, to deposit their passports in court.

Umar’s hearing was set for April 9 while Suleiman's will be on April 10 before Senior Resident Magistrate Martin Mutunga.