Former Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa to spend Valentines weekend in jail

Former Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa will spend his Valentine’s weekend at the Muthaiga Police station.

In a ruling made by Magistrate Lucas Onyona, the detention will allow officers complete their investigations and search the houses of the accused.

The prosecution had argued that the release of the respondents before searches would hamper the ongoing investigations.

The three will however be released on Monday at 6PM on a police cash bail of KSh.1M. They  have been forbidden from contacting any of the witnesses lined up for the case.

The prosecution had earlier made an application to hold the ex-CS who was arrested on Thursday, for 21 days as detectives travel to the United States to gather more evidence.

His defence however argued that his arrest was politically instigated because of his stance in the ongoing Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).

They also noted that the application by the prosecution to hold him for 21 days pending investigations was malicious since the prosecution did not have sufficient evidence at the time of his arrest.

His legal team further castigated the office of the DCI saying it was being used to wage political wars on politicians who were refusing to toe the line.

Echesa was arrested on Harambee Avenue, Nairobi on Thursday over the allegation of getting into a fake contract with foreign investors dealing with military equipment.