A billionaire is seeking permission to spy on Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko following a Mombasa court ruling that allowed his request to have some of the county boss' phone records.
Nairobi tycoon Praful Kumar had asked the court to compel the case prosecution to provide detailed electronic records of him and the governor after claims that he attempted to bribe Sonko Ksh5 million.
The Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), however, contested the directive arguing that the office was being asked to listen to people's private messages and tap calls in some instances.
In her ruling, however, Chief Magistrate Edna Nyaloti stated that the prosecution was not overstating its mandate and that it should furnish the defence with the data.
She only made an exception in cases where the data demanded was a matter of national security.
"The case shall proceed for hearing and that the prosecution to make specific telephone conversations requested by the defence before the close of prosecution’s case to enable the defence prepare for their case,” she ruled.
Broken down, Kumar was seeking all the calls exchanged between him and Sonko on August 20, 2018, around the time it was claimed that he wanted to bribe the governor.
He was also looking for all the telephone numbers involved and the exact locations that the telephones originated from.
Lack of the data, he further argued, made it difficult for him to stake a strong defence case since he lacked full, frank and fair disclosure.
The prosecution, thereafter, rushed to the High Court seeking the lower court's ruling stopped arguing that it was an infringed on the governor's privacy of communication.
Kumar is alleged to have attempted to bribe the governor in order to get permits approving his Grand Manor hotel in the city.
