A Kiambu court on Monday declined to allow the state to arrest and extradite a Chinese national wanted in Rwanda to face charges of forgery and tax evasion.
The Director of Public Prosecution through counsel Victor Juma had asked the court to cancel an earlier bond granted to Chen Chao and direct that his passport be deposited in court.
That would in turn allow for the arrest of Chao and his subsequent extradition to Rwanda to face the charges.
Chao is currently residing at Jade Valley within Westlands in Nairobi. The court had on November 30 allowed him to travel to Uganda for business. He was to later fly out to China.
But authorities removed Chao from an Entebe-bound flight on December 1 at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi and detained him at the airport.
It is then that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations through the affidavit sworn by Chief Inspector Nelson Munga and the DPP through counsel Victor Juma sought to have the court allow them to extradite Chao and have his passport held.
On Monday, Kiambu Chief Magistrate Emily Ominde directed Chao to deposit his passport in court but declined the state request for his arrest and extradition.
"The respondent is free and police are hereby directed not to harass him by arresting and taking him to different courts unless otherwise lawfully held," the magistrate ruled.
The court directed the DPP to notify Interpol in Rwanda about the ongoing court process in Kenya and the inability of the respondent to avail himself in Kigali.
The court, however, allowed the DPP to commence extradition proceedings against Chao by December 14, 2023 "failure to which this direction shall automatically lapse and passport returned to the respondent".
