A businessman accused of kidnapping his wife has been remanded by a court pending a determination on whether police will be allowed to detain him for seven days.
Milimani senior principal magistrate Bernard Ochoi heard that Ms Shankara Adan Hassan “was rescued from a solitary house in Maua where she had been locked up by Mr Abdullahu Mohammed Gullei”.
Mr Ochoi heard that the efforts of a multi-agency team drawn from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) from Nairobi and Meru Counties bore fruits on October 14, 2023 when Ms Shankara Adan Hassan was found.
The officers had closed all the border points after information of the kidnap that took place along Likoni Road, Nairobi on October 12, 2023.
Urging the court to detain Mr Gullei for seven days, Senior Sergeant Carolyne Mutiso told Mr Ochoi “she needs to establish the nationality of the suspect”.
Said SSG Mutiso, “Police suspect that Mr Gullei is a foreigner. We need to establish his status from the Immigration and National Registration Bureau”.
Also, the crime detective attached to the serious crimes unit of the DCI said she needs to establish the nature of business the suspect conducts in Meru.
On the fateful night, Shankara was reportedly abducted after an unmarked vehicle with three occupants blocked a taxi she was traveling in.
“A man donning a police uniform ordered Shankara to disembark from the taxi and board the unmarked vehicle,” Mr Ochoi heard.
SSG Mutiso said the unmarked car later drove at break-neck speed and disappeared.
The driver of the taxi reported the incident at the Shauri Moyo police station. He was referred to the Industrial Area Police Station since the incident occurred within the jurisdiction of that station.
The court heard that a combined effort of a multi-agency team yielded fruit when “the complainant was rescued from a solitary house in Maua.
She was taken to hospital to be examined and treated for trauma.”
Mr Ochoi heard that “both the suspect and Shankara were then transferred to Nairobi for processing.”
“I urge this court to allow me to finalize the investigations,” SSG Mutiso pleaded.
But her request met stiff opposition from two defence lawyers namely George Ayienda and Hargreaves Nyabira who said “the police plea is hollow since the complainant is the wife of the suspect.”
Said Ayienda, “It is a puzzle for the police to claim that Mr Gullei abducted his own wife. It is shocking and unbelievable.”
The lawyers prayed the court to admit the suspect on bond since “no compelling reasons have been advanced by the prosecution to warrant the plea by police.”
Mr Ayienda told the court that the suspect is a businessman based in Meru and has a national identity card issued to him by the Kenya Government.
“I impress upon the court to release the accused on bond and his rights should not be violated by virtue of his name,” Mr Ayienda stated.
He said police should have concluded investigations since the time of arrest.
In a rebuttal, state prosecutor James Gachoka told the magistrate that the defence lawyers have not furnished the court with a marriage certificate to prove that Shankara is the legal wife of Gullei.
He added that the lawyers have not produced the national identity card of the suspect to support their allegations that the accused is a Kenya.
Mr Ochoi will deliver a ruling on October 17, 2023.
