Court detains Wendy's manager for five days over forgery claims

A court has ordered a former manager of a star contortionist Wendy Waeni detained for five days pending conclusion of investigations into alleged threat to the minor’s mother.

Joseph Mwangi was remanded yesterday by Senior Principal Magistrate Bernard Ochoi after detectives requested to have him held for seven days.

“The suspect is a flight risk and might interfere with investigations. He went into hiding and switched off his phones,” ruled Mr Ochoi.

He dismissed the explanation by Mwangi that he got threats from strange numbers, noting it was not factual, as the suspect did not report the said threats to police.

“It is clear he went into hiding for fear of arrest. I, therefore, find the application by the prosecution merited and grant them five days,” said Ochoi.

The court heard that the suspect was being investigated over forgery and threatening of Magdalene Mbele Syombua, Waeni’s mother.

“The complainant in this matter is Magdalene Syombua and the suspect has been the manager to her daughter,” police officer Isaack Tenai said in an affidavit.

The court was informed that Mwangi forged a letter, purporting it to be from Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, and sent it via email to the complainant to intimidate her.

After Mwangi was informed that the matter had been reported to the police, he began to threaten the complainant.

“The suspect went into hiding immediately he realised he was being sought by detectives,” said Mr Tenai.

The prosecution said Mwangi was a flight risk because they had information that he intended to travel to London to evade prosecution.

The court was also informed that detectives were forced to appeal to the public to give information on the suspect that forced him to surrender.

It is said that after committing the offence, the suspect switched off all his known mobile phone lines, which made his arrest difficult.

Mwangi, according to Tenai, has not been fully processed for prosecution.

“The purported forged letter and the electronic gadgets that were used have been taken for forensic examination and the reports are not yet ready,” he said.

The court was informed that Mwangi was also wanted by DCI’s children’s protection unit for interrogation for other offences involving a minor.

All exhibits

“I have not arrested the other suspects nor recovered all the exhibits, and release of the suspect at this time will interfere with investigations,” said Tenai.

He added that Mwangi was arrested on Monday, and owing to the complex nature of the case, investigations have not yet been finalised.

The prosecution wanted Mwangi to be detained at Kilimani Police Station.

During a past interview, Wendy shocked the nation when she revealed that she had not received a single penny from her performances across the globe for the last five years.

Wendy is a Kenyan contortionist who has performed for audiences around the world, including President Uhuru Kenyatta and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame.