14 suspects linked to fake cement released on cash bail

A section of 13 people who were arraigned at a Milimani court on Monday, December 23,2024 facing accusations of selling fake cement. [Collins Kweyu, Standard] Fourteen suspects, including businessmen, truck drivers, Uber drivers, and hardware owners, arrested over their involvement in selling fake cement, were on Monday released on Sh200,000 cash bail each. This is after Milimani magistrate Dolphina Alego declined a request by the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Amin Mohamed to continue detaining the suspects for 30 days at Capitol Hill Police Station pending investigations of the possession and distribution of fake cement, which is believed to have contributed to recent incidents of buildings collapsing. In her ruling, Alego noted the seriousness of the allegations but cited the suspects' right to liberty pending the conclusion of the investigation. "While the court understands the gravity of the allegations, the right to bail is enshrined in law, and the prosecution has not provided sufficient evidence to justify denying bail. "However, considering the nature of the suspects and the current evidence, I find that the application to deny them bail should not stand," she said. The court granted each suspect bail in the amount of Sh200,000, with the requirement to report to Capitol Hill Police Station once a week. The suspects were arrested on December 20, 2024, after a multi-agency operation revealed that they had been distributing counterfeit cement. According to DCI Detective Sergeant Samuel Itegi, the investigation was launched due to growing concerns over building collapses linked to poor-quality cement. "There have been numerous incidents of buildings collapsing during the construction and the same is directly attributed to poor quality cement which is a matter of grave public concern due to the lives lost during such incidents," Itegi told court. In an affidavit, the DCI detailed how the suspects, after purchasing cement from legitimate factories, tampered with the product by adding Pozzolanic dust, a known adulterant. The court heard that this practice was designed to increase the weight of the cement and maximize profits at the expense of quality. "The multi-agency team found out that there are unscrupulous businessmen who after purchasing cement from legitimate factories, adulterate the same by interfering with the bag weights before selling," said Itegi. The court heard that the DCI has already seized several bags of cement from the suspects, which have been forwarded to the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) for forensic analysis. However, due to the technical nature of the tests, the officer told the court that it would take up to 30 days to determine the exact quality of the cement. "Analysis is technical because of the laid down industry procedure involved in coming up with the report since cement matures in 28 days in order to give accurate test results and the technical team would require at least thirty days to finalise," stated Itegi. The prosecution expressed concern that releasing the suspects could lead to interference with the ongoing investigations, as some of the exhibits may be linked to illegal activities outside Kenya's borders. "Our investigations suggest that this counterfeit cement could have crossed into neighboring countries, and we need to ensure the suspects do not obstruct our efforts to uncover the full extent of the operation," Itegi noted. However, the suspects represented by a team of lawyers led by Danstan Omari vehemently opposed the application and urged the court to grant bail, especially given the approaching Christmas holiday. Omari argued that the suspects were not a flight risk and expressed their willingness to cooperate with the ongoing investigation. "These individuals have fixed addresses and are committed to cooperating with the ongoing investigation. Denying them bail would be unfair, especially during this holiday season when they wish to be with their families," Omari said in court. The case will be mentioned on February 5, 2025, with the DCI continuing its investigation into the counterfeit cement scandal.

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