Kilifi DG Gideon Saburi freed on Ksh.200,000 cash bail, ordered to self-quarantine

A Mombasa court has released Kilifi Deputy Governor Gideon Saburi on a Ksh.200,000 cash bail or Ksh.500,000 bond with one surety of a similar amount in a case where he is charged for failing to self-quarantine over the coronavirus.

In his ruling, Magistrate Elvis Micheka further directed Saburi, who recovered from COVID-19 after admission at the Coast General Hospital, to proceed on self-quarantine for 14 days.

The deputy governor was also ordered to surrender his passport and not to communicate with any of the witnesses in the case.

The case will be mentioned on May 5, 2020.

In releasing the deputy governor, the Magistrate noted that the prosecution had not provided sufficient grounds on why Saburi should be denied bail.

Last week, appearing before Resident Magistrate Rita Amwayi, Saburi was charged that on diverse dates between March 6 and March 22, 2020, while suffering from an infectious disease namely COVID-19, he willfully and unlawfully exposed himself in public, without taking any precautions.

The deputy governor pleaded not guilty.

Magistrate Amwayi, however, directed that Saburi be detained until April 15, 2020 when the court was expected to rule rule on his bail application.

The Kilifi deputy governor has been in police custody since April 3, when he was discharged from the Coast General Hospital after the Ministry of Health confirmed he had recovered from the coronavirus.