The state has opposed a fresh application by a Kenyan-based Indian businessman charged with Sh356 million theft, who wants the court to release his passport so he can travel to Dubai.
Honey Khatwani’s passport was deposited in court in
June as part of his bond conditions after he pleaded not guilty to stealing the
money from Oki General Trading Limited, where he worked as a director between
2020 and 2024.
His previous attempt to have the passport released in August was dismissed after the state argued he was a flight risk.
In the present application, prosecutor Hillary Isiakho said Khatwani has not demonstrated any material change in circumstances since the court's earlier ruling that would warrant a reconsideration or variation of the existing bail terms.
“Merely applying a different advocate does not change the substance or legal merit of the application. The invitation letter to Dubai attached to the present application does not itself constitute sufficient or compelling justification to interfere with or vary the terms previously set by the court,” the prosecutor argued.
The state holds that there remains a real and legitimate concern that releasing the Khatwani’s passport may facilitate flight risk and compromise the integrity of the ongoing trial, saying no adequate safeguards have been proposed.
The prosecution told trial magistrate Dolphina Alego that permitting multiple and successive applications without new grounds risks undermining the finality of the court's decisions and amounts to an abuse of the court process.
“The application offends the overriding interests of justice and public confidence in the criminal justice system, especially where the accused seeks preferential treatment not ordinarily accorded to similarly placed accused persons. It is in the interest of justice and public interest that the application be dismissed,” Isiakho said.
He asked the court to give the state two weeks to file written submissions on the fresh application to have the passport released.
"We are requesting two weeks to file our written submissions against the application by the defence," Isiakho said.
That was after the defence lawyer asked the court to consider the application by way of written submissions.
“Your honour, we have filed our application providing our grounds on the same, and it is our humble request that the hearing proceed by way of written submissions," the lawyer said.
Magistrate Alego granted the prosecution two weeks to file their written responses and scheduled the matter to proceed for a hearing on October 13, 2025.
Honey Khatwani, the accused person, wants his passport to be released temporarily, claiming that he had a business trip to Dubai scheduled for September 29 to October 16, 2025.
Khatwani is an Indian national living in Kenya with his family. He served as a director at Oki General Trading Limited in Baba Dogo, Ruaraka constituency, Nairobi county, between 2020 and July 2024.
The charge sheet states that on various dates between January 2020 and June 2024, Khatwani, being a director of the company, stole Sh356,711,174.40, which came into his possession by virtue of his employment.
