Businesswoman Mary Wambui released on Sh50,000 bail after illegal gun possession charge

Businesswoman Mary Wambui was Thursday charged with unlawful possession of a firearm following her arrest on Wednesday.

Wambui who was arraigned before Milimani chief magistrate Wendy Kagendo also faced a second charge of possessing a firearm without a licence.

She denied both counts and was released on a bond of Sh100,000 with an alternative bail of Sh50,000.

The prosecution did not oppose her release on bail.

Wambui's lawyers Nelson Havi and Kipchumba Murkomen had earlier asked the court to release their client on a bail of Sh5, 000.

"The offense for which my client has been brought to court is a misdemeanour and it is preposterous that she had to spend the night in a cell," Havi said.

The matter will come up for pretrial on January 25.

Wambui was on Wednesday arrested for allegedly being in possession of an unregistered firearm.

Wambui was picked up from her Runda home and questioned by detectives before being taken to the Muthaiga police station where she spent the night.

The businessman is already facing a Sh2.2 billion tax evasion charge.

The decision to arrest was made when she surrendered her pistol on December 15 last year, a day after the Firearms Licensing Board said she held the common pistol illegally.

The licence had expired on April 17, 2020.

Edited by D Tarus