Businessman who wanted sister deported in tussle over Sh100m family inheritance
A businessman accused of possessing ammunition framed his sister and brother-in-law in order to take control of the family’s property worth Sh100 million, a court has heard.
Chief inspector Francis Kipsang said Mr Noor Mohamed Jan Mohamed is fighting to have his sister Zahara Pote deported to the US so that he can inherit a lucrative family property in Buxton, Mombasa.
Mr Mohamed is charged with having 507 rounds of ammunition in his home without a firearm certificate and giving false information to security officers who had gone to arrest him.
PROPERTY DISPUTE
“After conducting thorough investigations, I realised the two are fighting to gain full control of the property left behind by their late mother,” Mr Kipsang, the deputy DCIO of Mombasa, told the magistrate.
The officer said further investigations into the ammunition issue revealed an underlying property dispute.
“The accused wanted to fix his sister so that she can be arrested and deported to the US. He wanted to enjoy the wealth alone,” said the officer.
Ballistic expert Florence Arimi, who testified, confirmed that the bullets were live adding they were found to have originated from the US and Hungary. “The bullets are designed for signalling and training, but they can cause death when shot at close range at sensitive organs,” she said.
BULLETS
Ms Arimi said such ammunition is only owned by the military and the police, adding that licensed gun holders are not allowed to own such bullets.
The police said Mr Mohamed was found with the ammunition in circumstances which “raised reasonable perception that they were intended to be used in a manner prejudice to public order”.
The accused, who is out on a Sh100,000 bond, is said to have committed the offence on January 5, 2015.
Mr Kipsang said the accused had informed him that Ms Pote and her husband Mr Mark Pote, who are former US military officers who had been deployed to Afghanistan, had ammunition in their house, but upon investigations, it was discovered that the items belonged to Mr Mohamed.
FALSE INFORMATION
“Investigations revealed that the accused gave false information to fix his sister. We had to charge him because he could not reveal where he got the ammunition from,” the officer said.
Mr Pote had said he was not a party in the dispute. The couple has accused Mr Mohamed of using unorthodox means to take over the property belonging to them. The hearing continues on June 19.