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DPP Haji to appeal court decision to release Kenyan who is wanted in US


The Director of Public Prosecutions, Noordin Haji, has said that his office will file an appeal at the Milimani High Court to challenge the release of a suspect who is wanted in the United States.

According to the DPP, the accused, Abdulrahman Imran Juma, was released on May 19 by High Court judge Lady Justice Dora Chepkwony on a Sh1 million bond with one surety of a similar amount.

“Having been dissatisfied with the High Court’s ruling, the prosecution intends to appeal against the court’s decision to release the fugitive on bond terms pending the determination of the extradition proceedings,” Haji said.

The suspect is wanted by the Grand Jury for the United States District Court for the Central District of California to face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and aggravated identity theft.

According to Haji, the judge set aside Chief Magistrate Wendy Micheni’s order that denied the accused bail.

“The Chief Magistrate had denied him bail after finding that the fugitive was facing serious crimes in the US with the possibility of long jail terms,” Haji said.

Haji added that the fugitive is said to be part of a syndicate that orchestrated a scheme to defraud with co-conspirators who are already before the USA Courts.

The DPP said the prosecution objected to the release of the accused, arguing that the extradition case before the Chief Magistrate was at the highlighting of submissions stage and that the fugitive is still a flight risk.

This development comes just a day after the US government placed a $2 million (Sh233 million) bounty for information leading to the arrest or conviction of two Kenya nationals Abdi Hussein Ahmed and Badru Abdul Aziz Saleh for trafficking wildlife and narcotics.