KDF officer withdraws surety for daughter's boyfriend in fraud case

Building that houses Eldoret Law Court. [Judiciary, Meta]

Eldoret Law Court has allowed a request by a military officer to withdraw surety for his daughter's boyfriend who is facing fraud-related charges.

Appearing before Senior Principal Magistrate Mogire Onkoba, the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) officer Stephen Yego asked the court to hand him back his title deed, which he had deposited to secure the freedom of the accused Jacob Kipserem alias Obed Sisei.

Yego told the court that he was no longer interested in standing as surety for the accused after he failed to appear in court more than eight times.

He said he had been contacted by the court several times over the matter and he was tired of trying to reach the accused.

"I have come to demand for my title deed back and let the suspect carry his own cross. I have ensured that I hand him to the court but I do not want to be involved as his surety anymore since he has shown that he is not an honest person," Yego told the court.

Kipserem, 34, is accused of allegedly conning Shadrack Kibunguchy of Sh960,000 with the promise of securing a job in the military for his sons.

According to the charge sheet, he is said to have obtained the money from Kibunguchy by false pretense on diverse dates between November 3, 2021, and December 3, 2021, in Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu county.

He was arraigned in court on March 25, 2022, where he denied the charge and was released on Sh400,000 bond.

The KDF officer agreed to stand surety for Kipserem by depositing a title for his Sh1 million parcel of land to secure his release from police cells after his daughter who was in a relationship with the accused intervened.

However, the suspect reportedly fled from Uasin Gishu County forcing the court to issue an arrest warrant against him.

After missing for more than two years, he was apprehended by detectives following a tip-off from the public on his hideout in one of the South Rift region towns.

When the magistrate questioned his whereabouts and the reason he had absconded court, Kipserem claimed that he had traveled to Magadi in the South Rift in search of greener pastures.

"I was away for a while. I forgot the exact date that my case was coming up and on realising so, I tried to follow up to no avail. I only came back recently," he told the court.

The magistrate declared Kipserem a flight risk and ordered him to be detained at Eldoret GK Remand Prison pending the hearing and determination of his case.

"The accused person's bond has been cancelled with immediate effect and henceforth he will be remanded until his case is heard and determined. The surety can be given back his title deed," directed Onkoba.

The matter was set for mention on June 19 for further directions.