A member of the Kisii County Assembly from Nyamasibi ward was yesterday arraigned in a Kisii court for allegedly defrauding two members of the public of more than Sh200,000.
Christopher Onsaga appeared before Kisii Senior Resident Magistrate (SRM), John Nyariki, after police officers arrested and detained him at Kisii Central Police Station on Monday evening.
According to the Prosecutor, Cletus Akelo, the suspect was being investigated following several complaints of obtaining money under false pretense from the public with the promise of facilitating their travel to Canada.
“We have received so many complaints concerning the accused person for related offences,” Akelo said.
He urged the court to deny the suspect bond or grant the same based on a pre-bail report from the probation office.
Onsaga’s lawyer, Wilkins Ochoki opposed the bid to detain his client, arguing that the prosecutor had not filed any affidavit to support claims that other people had also lost money to the suspect.
He assured the court that Onsaga is not a flight risk and requested that his client be released on free bond.
“The accused person is a public officer who resides in Kisii town and can easily avail himself in court when called upon,” Ochoki said.
In his ruling, the Magistrate noted there was no compelling reason to deny the accused person a bond/bail, adding that the numerous similar complaints are not on record and should be investigated first.
He ordered the suspect to be released on a bond of Sh100,000 or cash bail of Sh50,000.
The case is set to be mentioned on the 4th of December.
By Mercy Osongo and Sophia Matoya
