Rally driver Maxine Muringo Wahome charged with the murder of Assad Khan has been released on a bond of Ksh 2 million and a surety of a similar amount.
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“I hereby grant the accused a bond Ksh 2 million with surety of a similar amount. Further orders are that the accused deposits her passport in court,” Justice Mutende ruled.
Assad Khan was Wahome’s fellow Rally driver and her boyfriend. However, High court judge Justice Lilian Mutende did not give alternative cash bail.
High Court Judge Lilian Mutende in her ruling on Thursday, said the prosecution did not give convincing evidence to deny the accused bond according to Article 49.
Maxine aged 25-year-old is however expected to deposit her passport with the court and will only travel out of the country with the permission of the court when necessary.
The Judge also stopped Wahome from contacting witnesses who have recorded statements and if she goes against this, the bond will be cancelled.
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Wahome last week expressed herself to the court that she was in an abusive, violent and dehumanising love affair, adding that Asad and his brother used to take her rally sponsorship funds and as a result “she has nothing in her pockets and little in her accounts” to pay for bail.
Wahome’s lawyer Philip Murgor also claimed that Asad’s family has confiscated her car and is demanding Ksh 2.9 million to release it.
“Asad was a mechanic who helped Maxine fix her rally cars and when she got famous, all the sponsorship money ended up in the hands of Asad and his brother Adil,” Murgor said. “And as she stands here she does not have anything in her pocket and very little in her bank account.”
Judge Lilian Mutende, however, said the court would not record the lawyer’s claims on confiscation of the car and the money demands.
“The prosecution did not advance any compelling reasons to warrant the court to deny her bond,” ruled Justice Mutende.
The family of the deceased and the prosecution opposed her being freed on bond but The judge acknowledged that bail is her constitutional right.
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It was also established that Maxine and Asad’s families are well-known to each other due to their love for motorsport.
“They(families) were aware of the love relationship between the accused and deceased,” the report reads.
“Everything happened so fast, unexpectedly. One moment the two families are all happy and celebrating in a rally and the next they are worst of enemies,” the report reads.
Justice Mutende concurred with defence lawyers Philip Murgor, Steve Kimathi and Andrew Musangi that bond can only be denied on “special circumstances.”
Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji had opposed Maxine’s release arguing that she is a flight risk and likely to interfere with witnesses but the judge was not convinced.
Maxine denies killing her boyfriend Asad Khan who succumbed to injuries in hospital after an alleged fight at their Kileleshwa home in December.
The case will be mentioned on April 19, 2023 to fix a hearing date.
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