Court Detains Former Gateways Marine Services Employee Accused of Stealing
Shakil Ali Mohamed and his lawyer Ouma Otieno at the Mombasa courts. (Photo By Harrison Kivisu)
By Harrison Kivisu
Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com
A Mombasa court has ordered the detention of Shakil Ali Mohamed, a former employee of Gateways Marine Service for seven days for contempt of court pending investigations into his medical report.
Senior resident Magistrate Gladys Olimo directed Mohamed to be held at the Shimo-la-Tewa Maximum Prison remand and directed investigators to conduct a fresh investigation into the accused medical report.
This is after the accused failed to appear in court on Friday 23th May, 2025 and instead presented a medical report claiming to be seriously sick and bedridden.
The court, therefore, wants his medical documents examined and a report filed to the court before a bail is granted.
The accused, who is a former employee of Gateways Marine Services, is accused of stealing from the firm property worth Ksh6.9 million.
The accused, who was to appear in Court on Friday 23th May, 2025, last week to face charges of stealing from employer contrary to section 281 of the Panel Code, failed to turn up claiming to be sick.
“The court rules that the accused to be remanded at Shimo-la-Tewa prison remand, pending an investigation report into his medical documents presented in this court.
The accused therefore shall come for hearing on June 5, 2025 in the same court,” ruled Olimo.
The accused lawyer Ouma Otieno had claimed his client and family were suffering from dengue fever and admitted for treatment at BeyoundScope Hospital in Kisauni, but the court read out malice.
The accused appeared for plea taking on Tuesday May 27, 2025, but was denied bail pending investigation and verification of his medical documents he presented in court claiming to be sick.
During her ruling Olimo, who is hearing the case, directed the investigation officer to conduct a verification exercise of the medical documents and present a report in the court when the accused will appear for hearing on June 5, 2025.
However, the public prosecutor Brenda Ogada asked the court to treat the matter as a contempt of court since the accused was later seen appearing for a different case on the same day his medical documents claimed he is bedridden at a local hospital.
Ogada argued that the accused lied to the court that he is bedridden and sick only to be seen within court corridors on the same day without signs of serious sickness.
She therefore wants a report confirming whether the hospital documents were cooked or were genuine.
“The right to liberty is not an absolute right,the accused person lied to the court that he was sick. But later the accused was seen appearing in court no 13 for another case on the same day, and he was strong enough to stand, therefore he lied to the court that he was sick, this court should demand a report determining his sickness through verification of his sick documents,” said Oganda.
The accused lawyer Ouma Otieno had claimed his client and family were suffering from dengue fever and admitted for treatment at BeyoundScope Hospital in Kisauni, but the court was not satisfied with the authenticity of the documents.
The accused lawyer wants his client granted a bond or bail since he has a sick daughter. He said his client is the sole breadwinner of the family and therefore the sick daughter will suffer when his client is jailed because he is a single father.
“There is no reason to deny my client a cash bail or bond because the prosecution has not provided enough evidence to the case. Again, I plead with the court to consider bail request because my client is a single father, with one kid who is also unwell,” Otieno told the court.
According to court documents, Shakil is charged with stealing his employer’s property totaling Ksh6,952, 610, between May 2024 and February 2025 at their premises in Changamwe, Mombasa.
Shakil was later arrested on 27th March, 2025 after Shazia Firoz, a complainant in the case and director of Gateway Marine Services reported the matter to the police.
He was thereafter released on Ksh50,000 police bond, awaiting his arraignment in court on Friday, 23th May, 2025 but failed to appear only to appear on Tuesday May 27, 2025.
The accused will now appear in court next Thursday, 5th May, 2025 to face the theft charges and take plea.
Gateway Marine Services Limited is a freight forwarding service provider specialized in refrigerated container handling services, customs clearance for import and export consignments.
