Court orders detention of Congolese accused of exporting soil to China after receiving Ksh151M
By K24 Editorial, April 5, 2024A Congolese national, accused of receiving Ksh151 million from an international company to export tantalum niobium to China but instead sent a heap of soil, has been charged before a Nairobi court.
Gabriel Kalonda alias Ulunda Patrick Lumumba alias Lumumba Patrick Byarufu, who appeared before Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Bernard Ochoi, denied two counts of conspiracy to defraud and obtaining $1 million from Yingchen Shenzenhen International Trade Company Limited by false pretences.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) said that the offences were committed between August 7, 2023 and December 26, 2023, within the Republic of Kenya.
The Congolese national is accused of defrauding by falsely claiming he could sell 84 metric tonnes of Tantalum Niobium ore (Tantalite) to the company.
After denying the charges, the prosecution opposed his release on bail, expressing concerns over his possession of two passports and potential flight risk.
Magistrate Ochoi ordered the accused person to be detained until April 8, 2024.
Kalonda was arraigned in court following his arrest by detectives hours after he sneaked back into the country on Thursday, April 4.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in a statement said the suspect was nabbed by the Operations Support Unit (OSU) of the DCI upon his arrival from Entebbe, Uganda.
According to the DCI, Kalonda was intercepted along Harambee Avenue in Nairobi after managing to evade detection by Immigration officials at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).