State asks court to detain Kilifi deputy governor for 10 more days

The State wants Kilifi Deputy Governor Gedion Saburi detained for 10 more days over claims he had infected his driver and others who are still in quarantine with Covid-19 after failing to isolate himself.

Mr Saburi was charged on April 9 with exposing the public to an infectious disease by failing to enter quarantine after flying back from Germany in March. He has denied the charges.

He applied for bond after the court listed an application to detain him for 14 days at Manyani Maximum Prison, but the application has been complicated by claims and counterclaims on Saburi’s medical status when he was forced into quarantine on March 21.

Saburi's lawyer claims his client has never tested positive for the virus and challenged the validity of an unsigned and undated report from the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) that confirmed a positive result. The State tabled the Kemri report in court yesterday.

Yesterday, the prosecution produced a medical report from Kemri indicating that Saburi tested positive for Covid-19 on March 21, which led to him being quarantined at the Coast General Hospital for 14 days.

Kemri's result disputes three medical results from Coast General Hospital showing Saburi was Covid-19 negative.

Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Alloise Kemo asked for Saburi to be detained for 10 more days to conclude investigations and record statements from witnesses still in quarantine.

Mr Kemo told Mombasa Principal Magistrate Elvis Micheka that more charges would be preferred against Saburi once police conclude investigations, adding that Kemri is an institution of international repute that conducts medial research worldwide and that their report should "not be belittled".

Mr Kemo said a report by Kemri Deputy Director Benjamin Sofa on Saburi was legit, and his office would present before court a medical report in due course.