The Mombasa case concerns an alleged Sh117,450 payment for wedding jewellery.
Mohamed Hussein Ahmed says illness kept him from court as a Mombasa magistrate orders police to verify his medical documents before further orders.
A man accused of obtaining Sh117,450 from a woman who was preparing for her wedding has been rearrested after failing to attend court for plea taking.
Mohamed Hussein Ahmed is accused of taking the money from Bierow Umazi on the promise that he would supply a gold wedding ring, gold earrings and a gold necklace. He has denied the charge.
Mombasa Resident Magistrate Gladys Olimo ordered that Ahmed remain at Tononoka Police Station until September 29 as investigators check the authenticity of medical documents he presented to explain his absence.
Missed court appearance
Ahmed had initially been arrested and freed on a Sh10,000 police bond, with instructions to appear in court on April 23. He did not attend, prompting the magistrate to issue a warrant for his arrest.
Court proceedings indicated that his whereabouts remained unknown until he was arrested early in the month, about five months after the scheduled appearance.
On returning to court, Ahmed maintained that he had been ill and that his condition had prevented him from attending the proceedings after his release on police bond.
The prosecution opposed his release on bond and sought time for investigators to establish whether the medical documents supporting his explanation were genuine.
Medical report awaited
Prosecutor Brenda Ogada told the court that the investigating officer was absent and had not produced the expected report on the medical documents.
She requested an adjournment to allow the officer to present the report before the court decided on the authenticity of the records. The magistrate directed police to investigate Ahmed’s explanation and ordered his continued detention pending further orders.
The charge alleges that Ahmed obtained the money at Baroda in Mombasa on various dates between July 8 and September 2025. Prosecutors say he falsely represented that he could supply the jewellery while knowing that the representation was untrue.
The allegations concerning the jewellery purchase remain contested, with Ahmed having entered a denial. The next court date is set for further orders while the inquiry into his medical documents is pending.
Separate tax case before the court
In a separate matter before the same magistrate, company director Elephus Gichuri was ordered detained after failing to attend a mention of his tax evasion case the previous month.
The court also issued an arrest warrant for Fredrick Mwenda, his co-director at Karukim, a company that is also facing tax evasion charges.
Gichuri and the company have pleaded not guilty to aiding tax evasion. The prosecution alleges that the conduct enabled containers carrying goods worth billions of shillings to be released at Mombasa port without taxes being paid.
