Two male suspected members of a notorious land fraud syndicate were Thursday, September 15, 2022 charged before a Nairobi court for defrauding Ksh11 million from a law firm owned by prominent lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi.
Guyo Guchana Halake and Samuel Kimani Kamau, who appeared before Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Bernard Ochoi, denied charges of conspiracy to defraud Ahmednasir Abdulahi Advocates LLP of Ksh11 million by falsely pretending they were in a position to sell a parcel of land located in Eastleigh at a cost of Ksh120 million.
The said Ahmednasir Abdulahi Advocates at the time of the fraud was acting on behalf of his client Mohamud Hashi Abdi
The two suspects are alleged to have obtained the money by false pretense on diverse dates between January 17 and March 29, 2022, in Nairobi City.
After denying the charges, the duo asked the court to release them on lenient bail terms saying they are the breadwinners of their families.
Ahmednasir's law firm opposes bail request
But Ahmednasir's law firm through lawyer Cohen Amanya vehemently opposed the request to have the two released on bond terms pending trial.
While opposing their release, Amanya said that the accused persons are a flight risk as they will not attend court proceedings.
He urged the court to consider the fact that Halake had been on the run after receiving the cash and only appeared in court following a warrant of arrest against him.
The prosecutor James Gachoka supported Amanya's submissions and asked the court to deny the accused person's bail.
Gachoka said that Halake and Kamau are accomplices of others who are at large and are also being sought by DCI detectives.
The magistrate, however, allowed the victim and prosecution's request and denied them bond terms, and ordered them to be remanded at Industrial Area Remand Prison.
"Considering the circumstances under which the accused persons were brought to court, I will be hesitant to give bond bonds," Magistrate Ochoi said.
The case will be mentioned on September 29 for pre-trial.
