- Police alleged the 83 suspects stole Sh170,000, a laptop and assorted items from Charo Jefwa, an employee of the hotel
- Suspects through their lawyers asked for bond to avoid contracting coronavirus while in jail
Celebrations hit the Malindi law courts on Tuesday after 83 workers at Temple Point resort were released.
They had been in police detention for seven days over the Sh2 billion hotel ownership wrangles.
Among those detained were Ian Langer, a director of Temple Point Resort, and Mathias Schimot, a diving school instructor. The detainees included men and women workers.
They claimed to have been subjected to injustice by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions while in police cells.
When the suspects were first brought to court, the DCI and the DPP were granted four days by the court to complete investigations of robbery with violence and murder.
They alleged that the 83 suspects stole Sh170,000 in cash, a laptop and assorted items from Charo Jefwa, an employee of the hotel, after illegally storming in.
On Monday, the suspects, through their lawyers, asked for bond to avoid contracting coronavirus while in jail.
On Tuesday morning, 42 suspects were released without charges while 41 others were charged with forceful entry into the resort, which is now managed by Kenyan Isaac Rodrot and Italian Stephano Uccelli.
Malindi chief magistrate William Chepseba released them on Sh5,000 bond each.
The suspects narrated tales of mistreatment and brutality by police officers while in the cells.
Regina Kalama said she was forced to stop breastfeeding her 10-month-old baby after police denied her access to her child.
Kalama's cousin said she was also forced to stop breastfeeding her firstborn child.
"I was locked in with my husband and the child was alone, taken care of by my mother. Up to now I have not seen her," she said.
The hotel has been renamed Salama Beach Resort after the new managers took over last month from Hans Jurgen Langer, a German.
Executive chef Kenneth Onyango said they suffered crowding, poor sanitation and insufficient food in the cells.
"We have no faith in the police in Malindi because they are using unnecessary force on a matter that did not warrant them to be harsh because we were at our place of work," he said.
Benjamin Tumaini said DCI officers forced them to write statements and used threats to get information that would suit the complainant and victimise them.
Edited by Henry Makori