The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji now wants a complainant in a case where a Congolese national is accused of defrauding a Ukrainian businessman of Sh105 million in a fake gold syndicate to testify through a virtual system.

When the case came up for mention before Milimani senior principal magistrate Bernard Ochoi, the DPP through Senior State prosecutor James Gachoka informed the court that he will file an application asking the court to allow the complainant in the case to testify virtually.

 He told the court that other witnesses will testify physically.

The magistrate, however, directed the case to be mentioned on January 12, 2023, for the purpose of confirming whether the prosecution and defence have filed their submissions with respect to the DPP application.

 Andre Kongolo Tshikunga has denied that between January and November 2018 at Afrisolutions Company Ltd on Kaptei Road, Kileleshwa, in Nairobi, alongside others, he fraudulently obtained $1,059,000 from Kovalenko  Hennadii, a Ukrainian national.  According to the prosecution, Kongolo pretended that he was in a position to sell a consignment of gold to Hennadii.

Tshikunga was charged seven days after Hennadii identified him as the man who allegedly conned him.

The accused had been in hiding for four years before he was arrested and detained on January 6, last year.

Gachoka had earlier opposed the bail application by Kongolo, saying he is a flight risk as he had been on the run from justice since 2018.

“Although the accused may deposit his passport in court as a bail condition, that is not a sure guarantee he will turn up for a trial,” Gachoka told the court during plea taking.

Hennadii flew to Kenya to positively identify the suspect before he was formally charged. The court also heard that the accused has other pending cases in different courts, Milimani.