Extradition proceedings to have suspect Kelvin Kang'ethe extradited to the US to face murder charges for the killing of his girlfriend on Friday failed to continue over access to lawyers.
The case had initially been set for hearing of bond application on Tuesday, but the matter stalled after suspect was left without legal representation following a fallout with his lawyers.
Milimani chief magistrate Lucas Onyina had directed that Kang'ethe be allowed to access his phone to contact a lawyer of his choice for representation before the next mention on March 1.
However on Friday, the suspect was still without lawyers.
He has blamed prison authorities and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations for denying him access to his mobile phone, which was confiscated following his arrest.
The Superintendent of Prisons in charge of documentation at the Industrial Area remand Martin Onyango, however, dismissed Kang'ethe's claims, saying he has often been allowed to use his phone to make calls.
He said he suspect gave four contacts that he wanted to talk to while in detention.
"An arrested person has the right to communicate with an advocate and other persons whose assistance is necessary. The four contacts he gave belonged to his attorneys, including David Muthama, Anthony Kago and Mohamed Ahmed," he told the court.
Kang'ethe, who is being held among the high-risk clientele and those charged with capital offences, is monitored by at least two prison officers during the day and six officers at night.
Onyango said Kang'ethe has on several occasions visited his office to access the welfare phone to contact his lawyers and relatives.
"He usually comes, I usher him in and give him one of the two welfare phones to contact the persons without interaction or coercion. In fact, just two days after his arrival on February 16, Kang'ethe made two calls at 3.30 pm," the prisons official said.
On February 21, he made calls to eight contacts between 9.30am and 10.30am, while on February 22 at 8.40am, he made two calls.
The court heard that throughout his stay at the prison, Kang'ethe never complained about the denial of access to a phone or his contacts.
"He has never complained to me. He is very humble and often says 'thank you very much sir' after he has contacted his people," Onyango said.
Kang'ethe, however, denied those claims, insisting he had been denied access to contacts and that he feels like he is out of touch with his people.
He also claimed that he never provided the four contacts as claimed, saying those were given to the prison officers and his attorneys before the relationship with his legal team got strained.
"I am shocked. The level of frustration I have had, I've not been able to get in touch with anyone," Kang'ethe said.
He claimed his lawyer John Ndegwa had been denied access to when he tried to visit.
The court directed that Kang'ethe be allowed access to his phone to contact his lawyers. The matter will be mentioned on March 13.
During the Tuesday mention, the suspect claimed he had been tortured and brutalised by police officers and prison authorities. He said there were marks on his hands and body of the alleged torture.
It also emerged that he had fallen out with his lawyers.
"I do not wish to continue with bond arguments for now without legal representation," Kang'ethe said.
That was after the court was informed that counsels who had previously gone on record on his behalf had fallen out with him and abandoned the case.
Kang'ethe asked the court to order he be allowed to access his mobile phone to contact a lawyer of his choice.
He said he had suspected foul play and collusion, given that his lawyers were seconded by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
"The lawyers who have been acting on my behalf were seconded to me by the DCI. I wonder why the agency involved in the investigations against me should be the ones offering me legal representation," Kang'ethe said.
He said detectives had directed that anyone interacting with him must be processed by the DCI headquarters.
"They said I cannot talk to anybody, even lawyers, without approval from DCI headquarters. The reason they gave me was that it was for my own safety," he said.
Kang'ethe told the court he would be able to get a lawyer if he were allowed to access his mobile phone and make phone calls.