A leading Kenyan publisher, Dhillon Malkiat Singh, has urged a magistrate to order Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga to personally attend court.
This, he argues, is so that he can personally assure the court that an Indian national charged with stealing Sh254 million from his publishing company will return to Kenya to face justice if allowed to travel abroad for medical treatment.
Through lawyer Kimani Wachira, Singh told Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Carolyne Nyaguthii that Kenya does not have an extradition treaty with India, thus, permitting Cheekati Naramsha Rao to leave the country would ensure he gets away with theft.
Writer and publisher Malkiat Singh.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
The publisher alleges Rao stole the funds from his company, Printing Services Limited, as well as forging Singh's signature on a letter announcing his promotion to the position of Managing Director.
Singh is the Managing Director of Printing Services Limited. Rao had been employed as General Manager before allegedly committing the offences.
Mr Cheekati Naramsha Rao.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation Media Group
“He is a flight risk,” lawyer Wachira told the court.
He submitted that Rao has previously attempted to flee the country three times, prompting the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to obtain court orders requiring the Immigration Department to bar him from leaving Kenya.
On Tuesday, April 8, 2025, Wachira opposed Rao’s plea to be allowed to travel to India for specialised treatment.
The court heard that the accused has repatriated the stolen funds to India and, if allowed to leave, is unlikely to return to face trial.
Mr Wachira told the court that DCI officers have been permitted to investigate Cheekati’s bank accounts to trace the movement of funds.
“It is evident that the applicant is hell-bent on leaving Nairobi for India. This is his third attempt to escape the court’s jurisdiction,” the lawyer submitted.
Singh argues that he knows Rao’s family in India and that other family members are caring for his elderly father.
The accused rarely visits India, he added.
He also noted that no medical records had been presented to the court to prove that he is urgently required by overseas doctors for treatment.
In his application to be allowed to travel, Cheekati says he is unwell and requires specialised treatment in India.
Through his lawyer Shadrack Kipkorir, Cheekati argued that health is a constitutional right and should not be impeded by the court.
The lawyer also assured the court that he would return to face trial, noting that Cheekati has lived and worked in Kenya since 2004.
“Allow Cheekati to travel for treatment and to attend to his ailing father,” Kipkorir urged the magistrate.
The court will rule on the application on May 5, 2025.
