An Egyptian alleged businesswoman who is said to have conned a Kenyan trader over Sh 19 million in a sugar deal has been detained in custody for theee days.
Anan Fattah Salama was arraigned on Thursday afternoon before magistrate Gilbert Shikwe and police asked for 10 days to allow them conclude investigations.
However, after opposing submissions by her lawyer Danstan Omari, the court granted them three days instead of the ten days they had asked.
In their application, the police claimed that Salama was arrested yesterday at Social House Hotel in Lavington following complaint by Samuel Njonde claiming she had defrauded him of USD 130,000 for importation of brown sugar from Egypt but which is yet to be delivered to him.
Police claimed that they woman has not given them any documents to prove that the sugar is being exported so she might be a fraudster.
However, Omari vehemently opposed the application for 10 days saying the grounds the prosecution want to use to detain the respondent are not sufficient.
“Your honor on the issue of Equity account linked to the respondent does not require 10 days to verify, the ODPP has confirmed that the respondent was found in a hotel and therefore that does not make her a flight risk,” Omari said.
He pleaded with the court to grant her bail based on her age and also health issues adding that 10 days were excessive.
“She is an old lady and she can get Kenyan sureties to stand for her, she is also saying that the case is a commercial dispute where the state want to use the police to settle business contract problems,” Omari said.
He further told court that his client was willing to reach out to the Complainant and settle the matter out of court.
In his ruling, Magistrate Shikwe said the objection by Omari was that although the application for detention is not opposed the number of days being sought id what was in contention.
He further ruled that being a foreigner, the apprehension by the police that she is a flight risk is not misplaced.
“I do not find the case that the suspected offenses that is proposed for investigation is fairly complex it is my opinion that it can be concluded within reasonable dispatch so I will give them instead of 10 days I’ll give them 3 working days,” the court ruled.
The case will be mentioned on November 28.
