Bishop David Kariuki Ngari popularly known as Gakuyo was on Monday, February charged with conspiring to defraud members of the public Ksh 1,052, 746.094.
Appearing before Milimani Principal Magistrate Benm Mark Enkhubi, Gakuyo who runs Ekeza Sacco denied the twelve charges of obtaining money through false pretence between 2015 and 2018.
Enkhubi released the televangelist on a Ksh 10 million cash bail with an alternative bond of Ksh 20 million with two contact persons.
"The contact persons are to be examined by the court and one must be a public officer," The Magistrate ordered.
Enkhubi also instructed Gakuyo to surrender his passport to the court and refrain from tampering with witnesses involved in the ongoing investigation.
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State prosecutor Henry Kinyanjui did not oppose the release of Gakuyo on bail.
The Thika-based preacher was arrested by DCI detectives on Wednesday, February 21 at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and barred him from catching his flight to Zambia.
"They say I cannot leave the country. I’m at JKIA. I just think there is some revenge somewhere. I’m happy I might get an opportunity to see the judge and be told on what case I have. Right now I’m at the DCI airport,” Gakuyo said in a self-recorded video.
The DCI on Friday last week sought a court order to detain Gakuyo for four days to complete investigations into the scandal.
Gakuyo who unsuccessfully ran for the Thika Town MP seat in the 2022 elections was arrested after the Ministry of Trade filed the complaint at the DCI headquarters setting the stage for investigations into the scandal affecting 78,000 members Ekeza Sacco.
The case will be mentioned on March 7, 2024, for pretrial.
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