Turkana politician detained for 14 days in Ksh.24M gold, mercury scam

A Mombasa court on Thursday detained a Turkana County politician and businessman embroiled in a Ksh.24 million gold and mercury scam for 14 days pending the conclusion of investigations.

Appearing before Senior Resident Magistrate David Odhiambo, the accused Simon Ekai Ewoi was charged with obtaining Ksh.24,263,780 by false pretences in the minerals trade.

“Ekai Ewoi was arraigned before Senior Resident Magistrate David Odhiambo to face four counts of obtaining money by false pretences, contrary to Section 313 of the penal code,” read a statement by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).

The ODPP said the accused and his accomplices fraudulently received the said sum from four complainants by pretending to be in a position to partner with them in the gold and mercury trade. 

Ekoi however pleaded not guilty to all counts levelled against him.

In his judgement, the trial magistrate ordered the accused to be detained for 14 days at the Central Police Station to allow detectives to complete their investigations.

“The court directed that he be produced in court on 8th April 2024, where he would be released on a Ksh.7 million bond with a surety of similar amount and two guarantors with clear details of their residences,” stated the ODPP.

Early this week, the court had given police two days to charge the businessman saying they had no valid reasons to continue detaining the suspect who has been in custody since his arrest on March 25, 2024.