The man who was arrested by detectives in Malindi for being suspected to own the Malindi 8-storey building that collapsed last week on Friday, has denied owning the structure in court.
Through lawyer Titus Kirui, Shabbirali Fakhruddin said he had nothing to do with the building for it belonged to his deceased father, Fakhrud Kassamali.
Kassamali lost his life during the incident after the house he was residing which was also bordering the structure under construction had a section of the rooms destroyed by the collapsed building while he was asleep, hence losing his life.
The advocate told the Malindi court that, “there is nowhere in the law a person can be charged for the mistake of another. The building belonged to the father of my client, who unfortunately lost his life at the crime scene.”
Frakhruddin is likely to face charges of manslaughter and causing grievous harm to victims of the ill-fated building, the charge sheet states.
According to the charge sheet presented to Malindi Chief Magistrate Julie Oseko, the suspect is accused of unlawfully killing one Fakhrud Kassamali on October 26, 2018, in Malindi sub-county.
Malindi police had requested to detain the accused to allow for the smooth completion of their investigations.
Police Constable Joseph Mwangi told the court that if Fakhruddin is released on bond, he was likely to interfere with investigations.
"Police need to detain the suspect for at least 21 days for witnesses are yet to record statements," he said, adding that some were still admitted in the hospital.
Fakhruddin was released on a personal bond of Sh500,000 with strict conditions not to appear anywhere near the scene of the crime, neither should he mingle with witnesses or leave Malindi.