Two Baracuda Airways directors and one employee who are alleged to have defrauded the public millions of shillings by ‘guaranteeing’ them employment at their company have been charged with 21 counts of fraud.
The accused, John Odhiambo Majiwa, Elizabeth Wanjiru Kinyanjui, and Stella Ivy Amaya are alleged to have committed the offence on diverse dates between December 7, 2016 and February10, 2017 at Equity Building along Argwings Kodhek Road within Nairobi County jointly with others not before the court.
Among the 21 counts of offences, the accused persons have also been charged with two counts of obtaining credit amounting to 772,000 by false pretense.
The three who appeared before Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi denied all counts and were released on Sh 1 million cash bail each or a bond of Sh 2 million each.
The case will be heard on 6th April.
Yesterday, the accused were presented before Resident Magistrate Sinkiyiah Tobiko where they were seeking orders to detain them for five days in order to complete investigations.
However, the magistrate said they be detained for only 24 hours as she did not find any compelling reasons as to why the respondents can should be detained that long.
The accused are said to have been obtained millions of money from more than 21 complainants which they paid to an account in standard chartered bank belonging to a company by the name Barracuda airways holdings limited Chiromo branch.
The money was to be used as payments for training upon being informed that they will be employed as pilots and cabin crews at Baracuda Airways which was to start on January, 2017.
The prosecution said that the complainants later visited the company’s offices at equity building along Argwings Kodhek road and found it closed.
They added that the respondents were arrested and are helping them with the investigations. Majiwa and Wanjiru are the directors of barracuda airways and the holders of the accounts where the funds were being deposited while Amaya is said to be a signatory to the account.
The prosecution while making the application added that on February 24, 2017 they obtained a court order via a miscellaneous application to investigate the account in question but they were obtained late in the afternoon and are yet to be served to the bank.
The complainants claim that the cheques they were given by Barracuda all bounced due to insufficient funds.
“We are yet to establish the status of the account and the four respondents being connected to the operations of the account might intervene with investigations if they are released from police custody or charged before investigations are completed,” said the prosecution.
