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Woman charged for attempting to register as Kenyan citizen


A Pangani woman of Somali origin was on Monday charged for attempting to register as a Kenyan citizen by false pretense.

Fartun Hussein was charged with four counts of attempting to obtain Kenyan citizenship, birth certificate and Kenyan passport along with being in the country illegally.

She denied all the charges before Resident Magistrate H. W Kagura and was released with a bond of Sh500, 000 with an option of a cash bail of Sh200, 000.

The court heard that the accused attempted to register as a citizen even obtaining an acknowledgement card on July 13 2012 at Kariokor registration of person’s office.

FALSE DETAILS

She was also said to have attempted to obtained a Kenyan birth certificate in Mandera and a passport at Nairobi using false details.

During her first arrest, she was released on a cash bail of Sh20, 000 and set to appear in court but did not, prompting the magistrate to issue a warrant of arrest.

On Monday, Fartun appeared in court with her lawyer looking unwell.

She developed an asthma attack during the court proceedings and after hours of staying outside while getting first aid, she appeared before the magistrate to take the plea.

Her lawyer requested that the warrant of arrest be lifted and the cash bail that had been forfeited when she failed to appear in court be retrieved.

He informed the court that the accused had not failed to appear in court willingly as she fell sick and was admitted in hospital.

PREGNANT

He added that the accused had no intention of not attending court as she lives in Pangani with her parents and grandparents are in Nairobi as well and that she is pregnant and due in a few weeks.

The prosecution did not object as they recognized that the accused had made an effort and appeared in court though still unwell. They also acknowledged that the medical evidence given was valid.

Fartun was released on bond with an option of cash bail.