A Kenyan businessman wanted in Rwanda to serve a five-year jail term for defrauding a bank over $1 million got reprieve on Monday after the court released him on bond.
Nathan Loyd Ndungu, who is also an American citizen, has been in custody for more than a week.
He was arrested as he jetted back into the country from the US and, according to court documents, Rwanda issued a red alert against him 10 years ago in February 2012 after he was tried, convicted and sentenced in absentia.
“He was tried in absentia where the Rwandan court convicted [him] in absentia for selling property belonging to another person’s coupled with fraud, as well as deceit and sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment,” court papers read.
However, senior principal magistrate Benard Ochoi ruled that there were no compelling reasons to deny Ndungu bond.
The court said the red alert notice from Rwanda has been there for 10 years, further asking if the state was aware of the said red alert all this time.
In the case, once the extradition is filed at the Rwanda Embassy, they will serve the Attorney General then once the AG is satisfied he will forward it to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.
When the DPP receives it and is also satisfied, he will then file it in court which, in turn, will issue an extradition warrant to Ndungu.
Ndungu will be presented before court where the state will prosecute the matter and give court reasons why he should be deported.
The court will also consider the extradition application by the state and determine if it will allow it or not.
Ochoi added that, in this case, there was no formal extradition application filed in court and he had given them time to file it.
On the issue of Ndungu fleeing to the US if released, the court ruled that Kenya has an extradition treaty with that country and, if he disappears, then they will file the extradition order to the US for his repatriation.
The state argued that if released, he might flee to the US and since Rwanda has no treaty with the US, then it will be hard to get him.
The court was also shocked that the red alert has been in place for a decade yet Ndungu has been coming in and out of country for all these years.
Ochoi directed him to deposit Sh1 million bond and a surety of the same amount pending filing of the extradition.
He has also been ordered to surrender his passport and travelling documents in court until the matter is determined.
In the meantime, he has been directed to report twice a week to the police as he awaits the extradition.
The court also declined an application by Ndungu’s lawyer Danstan Omari to review the bond terms and, instead, grant them an alternative of a cash bail.
Ndungu was arraigned before Ochoi on Wednesday last week where the state asked for 21 days to detain him.
The court heard that the Republic of Rwanda had indicated that they are in the process of forwarding the formal extradition request to the Republic of Kenya.
The court was also told that if released, he might go back to the US and it will be hard to extradite him since Rwanda does not have an extradition treaty with the United States.
Senior assistant DPP Catherine Mwaniki pleaded with the court to allow their application, saying Kenya should not be seen as shielding fugitives of other countries.
However, Ndungu, through his lawyers Omari and Cliff Ombeta opposed the application for his detention.
Omari asked the court to release their client on bail, saying he is very unwell and needs a machine to be able to breathe, adding that the machine was even in court.
Omari further claimed that there is a settlement agreement between Fina Bank and Government of Rwanda over the same issue and everything has been paid in full.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
