An Italian lawyer has claimed she was placed under house arrest in Malindi and her passport confiscated after one of her dogs bit a neighbour.
Italian media outlets report that the 58-year-old lawyer from Bergamo, Rita Duzioni, is living a judicial ordeal in Malindi, where she is forced into a sort of house arrest after a Kenyan judge had her passport withdrawn.
She stands accused of failure to put in place mechanisms to ensure her fierce dogs don’t harm neighbours.
Duzioni revealed that the incident occurred in April 2023 and they agreed on compensation with the victim which was settled.
In those days Duzioni was not in Kenya, it was the woman from Brescia, who she knows, who contacted her and explained what happened: the two agree on a compensation.
The woman had rented a house in Malindi, which is right in front of the ‘Lions in the Sun’ resort, owned by Flavio Briatore.
On April 16 2023, one of the five dogs that the woman had taken off the street three years ago and that are in her house had left the gate, forgotten open by a guard in charge of controlling the house.
Just at that moment in the street, there was a woman from Brescia, a resident manager of the nearby resort, walking with her dog. ‘
She probably feared that they would attack him, so she pulled the tail and kicked one of my animals, which bit her.
Among other things, the other dogs and hers started playing and it was not the first time that this happened.
The lawyer had reported the matter to the Italian consulate where she was advised to present herself before the police in December.
She added that she had been arraigned before the local court several times but efforts to defend herself have been futile.
However, she was immediately arrested after she jetted back into the country.
She was also asked to pay Sh3.5 million before her passport was confiscated.
She has complained that she is being harassed and Kenyan authorities are abusing their power to extort money from her since she is a foreigner.
Italian news outlets quoted the lawyer saying that she had already paid Sh69,000 to the victim as compensation.
She is now questioning why such treatment is being meted out to her and alleged that Kenyan police have made it a habit to extort money from other Italians in Malindi.
“I am rebelling against this system of corruption that has been going on for too long, I have principles and have been a lawyer for 30 years. I want to be an example for my son too,” she told local media.
“I do not know what will happen now, first of all, I have to find a lawyer. I confess that I am afraid to appear in court next time.”
According to the lawyer, she had developed a friendship with the victim’s employer, an Italian billionaire, who she now states refused to resolve the matter amicably.
In the meantime, she has already undergone eight court hearings without any decision being made against her.
The almost surreal story, given that the alleged crime is the neglected custody of animals, worries the lawyer.
On December 20, Duzioni returned to Malindi where her husband Gianfranco Vitali, a well-known accountant from Bergamo and one of the Italian pioneers of tourism in Kenya, has been the owner of hotels and resorts.
On December 28 the lawyer learned of the invitation to present herself to the tourist police.
“If I leave the house, I get arrested – she explains over the phone from Malindi – I presented myself to the tourist police on December 28th, on the advice of the Italian consulate: they handcuffed me, took my fingerprints and took me to a little room waiting for the trial. What happened in Malindi,” Italian media quoted her.
Police said the matter is in court and had no comment on the same for now.