A mastermind behind a fake Canadian visa application syndicate has been charged at a Nairobi court after obtaining Sh 7.9 million from Nancy Najira Odhungo.
Brian Reeves Obare appeared before the Milimani Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina on Wednesday and was charged with the offence of obtaining money by false pretences.
The prosecution told the court that Obare obtained Sh 7,948,650 from the complainant money being paid by the visa applicants of Golden Key Travel Consultants company.
The court heard that the alleged offence took place on diverse dates between January 1, 2022 and January 31, 2024, at Nairobi City within Nairobi county.
He pretended to be in a position to process the said travel Visa at the Canadian Embassy for the said clients which was a false fact.
He denied the charges before the presiding magistrate who later recused the file to another magistrate to determine whether he would be released on bond.
Obare appeared before Milimani senior principal magistrate Dolphina Alego on Thursday where the prosecution opposed his release on bail citing that the accused has been at large since 2022,
“Your honour the accused person had been in the run since 2022 until he was arrested on Tuesday and releasing him on bail will give the Investigating officer hard times looking for him for further trials,” urged state prosecutor Sonia Njoki.
She told the court that a lot of resources had been to arrest him stating that he does not have a known place of abode asserting that he keeps on changing his telephone number now and then to evade arrest.
While in support of the affidavit by the Investigating officer, Njoki urged the court to detain the accused in custody since he might not appear in court for trials.
She also stated that he is a frequent traveler outside the country and if released might escape from the country and never return.
Finally, she urged the court that if the accused will be released on bond court should consider the amount that commensurate with the amount in the charge sheet.
The defence team opposed the allegations by the state indicating that they were not supported by documents stating that they were not merited,
“Your honour the accused is a Kenyan citizen by birth and he has strong family ties in the country. No sermon from the court has been produced against him,” the defence lawyer submitted.
The lawyer urged the court to release him on lenient bond terms.
In her ruling, the magistrate considered the application by the prosecution through the affidavit by the Investigating officer and that of the defence,
“I understand bond is a constitutional right to every accused person but I have noted that the accused person’s abode is not known and considering the weight of the matter I cannot grant bond for now without a report against him,” the magistrate said.
She ordered the accused person to be detained at Capitol Hill police station until November 6, 2024, when the pre-bail report will be presented in court to determine whether he will be released on bond.