Nairobi tycoon in Sonko bribery case allowed to travel to UK

Nairobi tycoon in Sonko bribery case allowed to travel to UK

A Mombasa Court has allowed a 30-day leave for Nairobi businessman Praful Kumar who is accused of allegedly attempting to bribe Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko to travel out of the country.

The ruling comes after Kumar who is out on a Ksh.1M bond,applied for leave to fly to the United Kingdom to allow him take his ailing son for treatment.

A plea that Mombasa Senior Principal Magistrate Henry Nyakweba granted.

Earlier, the Prosecution had objected to his application terming the accused as a flight risk who is likely not to return to Kenya for the hearing of the criminal proceedings against him.

The Nairobi Tycoon was charged with three counts of giving a bribe.

The court heard how the businessman offered Governor Sonko Ksh.1 million to allow him continue with construction of his Grand Manor Hotel in Gigiri, Nairobi.

The Grand Manor Hotel is situated opposite the US Embassy on one side, and the United Nations head offices on the other side.

On its left, is the High Commission of Botswana and on the right is the Embassy of Morocco stretching to its backyard.

The genesis of controversy partly stems from its proximity to the embassies, with the foreign missions writing to the county government and the foreign affairs ministry to protest its construction.

But the hotel has been under construction with the approval of the Nairobi City County government.

Kumar has since denied the charges.

Kumar will now travel from October 22, 2018 and is expected back on November 30, 2018.

The hearing is expected to start on November 30, 2018.

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Sonko Gigiri Praful Kumar

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