Court gavel.
A Nairobi court has freed a taxi driver accused of personation and unlawful
possession of national identity cards belonging to other persons.
Emily Kimani was released on a bond of Sh500,000
with one surety of a similar amount, or alternatively, a cash bail of Sh200,000
plus one contact person.
Kimani was charged with being in possession of
unlawful documents after she was arrested at the National Bank of Kenya
Limited, Mountain Mall branch in Nairobi.
Appearing before Principal Magistrate Dolphina
Alego at the Milimani Law Courts, Kimani pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The prosecution told the court that it was not
opposed to her release on bail or bond but urged the court to impose strict
conditions to ensure she attends trial.
“We are not opposed to her release, but strict terms must be imposed to
guarantee she attends court,” the prosecutor submitted.
In her defence, Kimani pleaded with the court
to consider reducing the cash bail, saying she was a single mother of two
children and the sole breadwinner of her family.
She told the court that she earns her living
as a taxi driver and does not have the financial ability to raise a large cash
bail.
"I earn a living as an taxi driver, and
hence I ask the court to consider my cash bail," stated Kimani.
The court also heard that Kimani was arrested
after she delivered an envelope to a bank, which later turned out to contain
documents suspected to be forged.
“I was only instructed to deliver the
envelope. I had no knowledge of the contents,” Kimani told the court.
Her lawyer reiterated that she was simply
carrying out her duties as a driver and was unaware of what was inside the
envelope.
Magistrate Alego directed that a pre-bail
report be filed by August 27 before the case proceeds.
The matter will be mentioned on
September 4 for pretrial before Court Number Three.
