Ali Punjani, a Mombasa tycoon who is being sought by police over drug trafficking, has extended his stay in India for five days.
According to his personal assistant, Mr Punjani was admitted to the Asian Heart Institute in India where he underwent open-heart surgery early this month. He was expected back in the country Monday at 10.20am aboard a Kenya Airways flight but he did not check-in.
Mombasa police had said upon his arrival, Mr Punjani will be arrested for interrogation.
“We will arrest him the minute he gets into the country. We want him to come and explain to us where he got all his wealth. We got a lot of cheques, title deeds and more than Sh63,000 from his house during our crackdown,” said outgoing Mombasa police boss Johnston Ipara.
According to his personal assistant Kakawat Pankaj, the tycoon was referred to India after a check-up at The Heart Lung Diagnostic Centre in Mombasa.
“The above patient (Mr Punjani) was admitted on July 29, 2019 following a heart attack/acute coronary syndrome. An angiogram done showed significant CAD with blocked coronary arteries.
“This is not amenable with angioplasty and he has been advised to undergo coronary artery bypass grafting urgently. This has been arranged at the Asian Heart Institute for next week,” a letter signed by Dr N. Chaudhry at the centre reads.
Mr Punjani was last month mentioned in a New York court by Indian national Vijaygiri Goswami, who has been charged in the foreign country alongside Baktash Akasha and Ibrahim Akasha over drugs trafficking.
In his allegations before the New York court, Mr Goswami described Mr Punjani as a rival drug lord of the Akasha in Mombasa.
Mr Punjani’s name first came to the limelight when he was mentioned in Parliament as a drug suspect by the late Interior minister George Saitoti in 2010 and was being probed over the same.
He was mentioned alongside four politicians in a dossier from the American Embassy to the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission.
In 2017, Mr Punjani was charged in a Mombasa court with fighting in public with the sons of Akasha.
The Mombasa court heard that Mr Punjani, jointly with others not before court, took part in a fight at Rahian Bar and Restaurant. According to the prosecution, the offence was committed on January 1.
Mr Punjani was released on a Sh50,000 bond with a surety of similar amount. The case is still in court.
