Chief magistrate Julius Nangea. [Photo/ nation.co.ke]
A Mombasa court has issued a warrant of arrest against a Kenyan businessman, Maur Bwanamaka.Bwanamaka is accused of failing to appear in court in a case in which he is charged with trafficking Sh1.3 billion heroin in a ship that was blown up by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).Bwanamaka, who was a senatorial candidate in Tana River in the August polls failed to appear before chief magistrate Julius Nangea on Monday.Magistrate Nangea said the accused had not presented any document in court stating why he did not appear in court. The court was expected to rule on whether the eight Pakistani nationals alongside three Kenyans charged with trafficking the 377 kilograms of heroin inside MV Noor at the Port of Mombasa have a case to answer.The magistrate on Monday upheld his decision to free two Indian crew members of the ship after it established that they were seafaring trainees who had no control over the vessel. The State has, however, appealed against the release of Prabhakara Nair and Vikas Balwan.The vessel, MV Al Noor was bombed and sunken by KDF some 18 nautical miles South East of Mombasa in 2014 after it was seized by the authorities while trafficking 377 kilograms of heroin. The case will be mentioned on December 6, 2017.