The four Chinese nationals who were accused of caning their Kenyan workers at their Kileleshwa restaurant in Nairobi have begged the court to deport them.
Appearing before High Court Judge Luka Kimaru, the four — Liu Jiang, Wang Kai, Zhao Liangbin and Li Shaoqing — said they are willing to be deported.
The prosecution sought time to get directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions.
At the same time, the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) George Kinoti opposed their application at the trial court where they wanted the court to reduce their 15-day detention.
Through investigating officer Noah Kiplangat, Kinoti had said that the Chinese nationals’ application is an abuse of the court process intended to defeat justice and requested the court to dismiss it.
“Considering the nature of investigations and logistics involved, the 15 days sought in the trial court will enable us conclusively complete this multi-agency investigation without delay,” said Mr. Kiplangat.
In his affidavit, Mr. Kiplangat said the Chinese nationals have been degraded and violated fundamental rights of Kenyans thus breaching their condition of stay and their case for deportation is ripe.
The officer said that they have presented the suspect’s fingerprints to the National Registration Bureau and the Criminal Registration Bureau and they are yet to receive feedback on the status of the suspects.
“The investigations against the suspects are ongoing and since we are still pursuing the employer/owner of the hotel who has since gone into hiding having learnt of the arrest of the suspects,” added Kiplangat.
The DCI officer said that they need to obtain documents from the restaurant relating to the logging accounts of the suspects for the period they have been in gainful employment in the country which will form part of the evidence.
He said the evidence can only be obtained when the Chinese nationals are in custody.
