Nakuru Court has ordered a 62-year-old man to be remanded in custody after he was arraigned on charges of sodomizing 10 minors.
Martin Herman Baumgartner was also charged with a second count of being in unlawful possession of a firearm and three more charges of human trafficking.
The accused who allegedly committed the offences on diverse dates between November 2014 and April 2019, pleaded not guilty to all the charges when he appeared before Senior Resident Magistrate Emmanuel Soita.
While opposing Mr Baumgartner’s release on bond the prosecution team led by Dismas Kiplang’at informed the court the accused was a flight risk as he holds dual citizenship of Kenya and Germany.
In his application supported by a sworn affidavit by the leading investigating officer in the case, Chief Inspector Evelyne Mboya from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation’s Anti-Human Trafficking and Protection Unit said the accused was likely to interfere with investigations.
“The accused person provides financial assistance to male children through his company Tujenge Holdings Limited. Being a director of the company he has great influence on the community. The victims are employed by the accused hence the likelihood of being compromised,” the prosecutor told Mr Soita.
Mr Baumgartner was arrested on February 14 at Kwa Nyayo area near Kamindo Center within Bahati Sub-County.
The Court was informed that the accused was found in possession of a Double Action Revolver serial number 4201001830 without a firearms certificate.
He urged the court to facilitate hearing of the matter on priority basis in the best interests of justice and in furtherance of best interests of the minors.
Mr Karanja pleaded with the court to grant his client bail as he was a law abiding citizen.
He told the court that Mr Baumgartner was not a flight risk as he had been cooperating with investigation officers and was willing to abide by bail conditions set by court.
The defense counsel said the accused was unlikely to interfere with investigations as police had already recorded witness statements.
Soita ordered the accused be remanded at the Nakuru GK prison until February 22 when he will make a ruling on the prosecution’s application.
