Counties

Five in court for unauthorised sale of SGR tickets

train

Passengers board a Madaraka Express train at the Mombasa terminus on June 8, 2017. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU | NMG

Five people were Monday charged before a Mombasa court with allegedly selling Madaraka Express trains tickets without authorisation from the Kenya Railways Corporation.

In a move meant to deter others from cashing in on sale of tickets, four suspects - Hilder Wanjala, Maurinee Gatwiri, Richard Githinji and Jimmi Muriungi - were arraigned before senior resident magistrate Edigah Kagoni today.

The charge sheet stated that jointly with others not before court, they engaged in selling tickets to other persons in order for them to travel on a train.

The offence was allegedly committed on diverse dates between June 1 and July 14 at Mahogany Company Limited in Mtwapa within Kilifi county.

They denied the charges.

READ: Kenya Railways probes claims middlemen cashing in on SGR tickets

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Another suspect, Jabes Ochieng, was separately charged with a similar offence.

He allegedly sold tickets at the Mombasa Railways Terminus in Miritini area within Mombasa County on July 13,2017.

He also denied the charges.

The magistrate released each of the accused on a Sh10,000 cash bail and directed both cases be mentioned on July 31.

Cash in

The trains plying the Nairobi-Mombasa route have become popular with commuters due to shorter travel time compared to road and low promotional prices.

Last month, Kenya Railways had said it was looking into reports that middlemen were buying tickets at Sh700 and re-selling them at higher prices outside the Miritini terminus.

The government has also recently warned the public against sabotage of the mega-infrastructure, saying that anyone caught destroying it would be charged with a capital offence.

READ: SGR saboteurs risk capital offence charge, Tobiko warns