A Turkana county politician has been charged before a Mombasa court with obtaining Sh24.2 million by false pretenses connected to gold and mercury trade.
Simon Ekai Ewoi was arraigned before Senior Resident Magistrate David Odhiambo to face four counts of obtaining money by false pretenses, contrary to Section 313 of the penal code.
The court heard that the accused and his accomplices obtained a total sum of Sh24,263,780 from the four complaints by falsely pretending that he was in a position to partner with them in the gold and mercury trade.
The accused pleaded not guilty to all counts, with Senior Prosecution Counsel Barbara Sombo opposing his immediate release on bail since he was under further police investigations.
In his ruling, the trial magistrate ordered Ewoi to be detained for fourteen days at the Central Police Station to allow detectives to complete their investigation.
The court directed that he be produced in court on April 8 2024, where he would be released on a Sh7 million bond with a surety of similar amount and two guarantors with clear details of their residences.
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