Congolese charged in sh156mn tantalum minerals scam in Kenya
A Congolese national Lumumba Patrick Ulundo at the Milimani court charged in a Sh156 million fraud case.
A Congolese national accused of defrauding an industrialist of Sh156 million claiming he would supply him with precious minerals has been remanded in prison custody pending bail determination on Monday next week.
Milimani Chief Magistrate Benard Ochoi detained Patrick Lumumba Ulundu alias Gabriel Kulonda Ulungu alias after the DPP through prosecutor James Gachoka opposed his release on bond saying he was a flight risk.
Lumumba allegedly pretended he would supply 84 metric tons of Tantalum Niobium to an international investor, a fact the court was told was false.
Opposing his bond, Gachoka said Lumumba has no fixed abode in Kenya, an holder of two travel documents and identification cards.
He said when the accused entered Kenya, he did not use either of his two passports but instead used an inter-state travel document.
"I urge this court to deny the accused bond since he is a flight risk and has no known fixed abode," the counsel argued.
"He uses several travel documents to enter and exit the country. Once he is out, he will disappear without a trace".
Even so, the defence lawyer opposed the DPP’s application for bail denial saying it is a constitutional right for any suspect arraigned in court.
Lumumba, the court was told, has been living in Kenya for the past two years and was a resident in Mombasa.
He said police knew the apartment where the accused lived.
Lumumba denied two counts of conspiracy to defraud and obtain money through pretenses.
He will cool his heels at the Industrial Area Prison until Monday when his bond application will be considered.
In the same court, another businessman John Bosco Olago was charged with defrauding Hainan Rui Rong Long International Trading Limited USD ($)103,000 claiming he would sell them 1000 tons of white refined sugar a fact he knew to be false.
Olago was freed on a bond of Sh3 million with an alternative cash bail of Sh1 million after telling the court he was settling the matter outside court with the complainant.
Olago said he will make every effort to repay the money as the case “will hurt his business and family.”
