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A Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officer is seeking a court order to detain a suspect who is admitted at Kenyatta National Hospital to retrieve a memory card he allegedly swallowed to conceal evidence in a fake title deeds case.

State prosecutor James Gachoka sought orders to have Joel Mwangangi escorted to KNH to have him examined and the memory card retrieved from his bowel.

Forgery claims

Mwangangi is said to have swallowed the card to hide evidence and efforts to have it retrieved at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport anti-Narcotics unit were unsuccessful.

“We are therefore seeking an ex-parte order to the Chief Executive Officer KNH to assist the victim retrieve the memory card,” Gachoka Milimani Chief Magistrate Bernard Ochoi.

Gachoka said Mwangangi who was arrested on Friday alongside five others namely Benedict Mwangangi Ngala, Vincent Boaz Owang, Titus Wambua Kithuku, Sylvester Mwanzia Mwanthi and Eric Omondi Ojwang need to be interrogated to establish their role in making fake title deeds and allotment letters for land in various counties.

“Police recovered 399 fake title deeds,” Gachoka said.

The prosecutor requested detective Nicholas Otieno be afforded 30 days to complete investigations for the offences of conspiracy to defraud, forgery of official documents, forgery of stamps, forgery of allotment letters, obtaining registration through pretences and uttering false documents.

Gachoka requested police be given ample time to complete investigations which will unearth a syndicate of manufacturing of fake titles and allotment letters.

He added that on August 1, the court had allowed police to conduct a search in the premises of the six suspects with a view to recovering evidence in respect to land documents. He said the investigators visited the residences of the six suspects from where they recovered assorted documents, printers and rubber stamps.

The search led them to Ngara where Mwangangi and Kakuli operate from, where they recovered printers, rubber stamps, flash disks, printing papers and TV monitors.

The magistrate will deliver the ruling on the detention petition today.