From right to left: James Mwangi, Aweys Ahmed, Zein Ahmed, Zahir Abbas and Victor Were during the hearing at the Mombasa Law Courts. Photo/ nation.co.ke
Five men were on Thursday arraigned before a Mombasa Court to answer to charges of conspiring to defraud the late Mombasa tycoon Tahir Sheikh Said popularly known as TSS Sh8.7 billion.
Aweys Ahmed, James Mwangi, Victor Were and Zahir Abbas are alleged to have colluded with others, who were not in court, to defraud the late prominent businessman of the said amount between February 8, 2011 and October 29, 2015.
The prosecution told the court that the accused persons allegedly changed the directorship of the tycoon's group of companies and filed false share transfers claiming that TSS had released his shares to one Isha Said.
Appearing before Mombasa Senior Principal Magistrate Francis Kyambia, the five were charged with forged deed of guarantee and indemnity.
Mwangi and Aweys Mohamed were also accused of stealing various documents belonging to the tycoon including a PIN certificate, certificate of lease and valuation reports among others in line with the fraudulent deal, the Nation reports.
Lawyer Gikandi Ngibuini, who was representing one of the five accused persons, asked the prosecution to present them with witness statements or any other documented evidence against his client.
“Article 50 (of the Constitution) clearly provides an accused has the right to be supplied with copies of witness statements and exhibits,” he said, as quoted by the Nation.
Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecution Alexander Muteti, however, said they were only entitled to statements required for defense.
The case will be heard on June 6 and 8, 2017.