The Tanzanian national is alleged to have deceived Mr Mahendra and Mr Bhavir that they were possessed by evil spirits.
A Kenyan family has been left scratching their heads after a self-proclaimed Tanzanian evil spirit exorcist made away with over Sh104.5 million in the pretext of having the formula to liberate the Mombasa family from an imagined bondage of demons.
Mahendra Kumar and Bhavir Kumar reportedly lost millions to Sadiki Jumanne Nyarembe, who was supposed to drive out demons from their family and cleanse their possessions of evil spirits.
The fraud that detectives alleged occurred between January and August of this year came to light following the arrest of Mr Nyarembe, who was found in the leafy Nyali suburb without the necessary travel documents on August 28.
The next day, Nyarembe was presented before the Mombasa court, where the State pressed criminal charges against him.
Detectives are still searching for his accomplices, whom they claim conspired with the foreigner to defraud the family of their millions.
The Tanzanian national is alleged to have deceived Mr Mahendra and Mr Bhavir that they were possessed by evil spirits and that he had powers to drive the demons out and also cleanse their properties.
Nyarembe, the self-proclaimed evil spirit exorcist, is facing four counts, including conspiracy to defraud, obtaining by false pretences, and being unlawfully present in Kenya contrary to the law.
In the first count, Nyarembe was charged that on an unknown date and time while in the country, he conspired with others who have yet to be arrested, to defraud Mr Mahendra and Mr Bhavik by deceiving them into believing that they were possessed by evil spirits.
The court heard that the suspect exploited this deception to perform exorcism rites on his victims.
It was revealed that the suspect carried out exorcisms on his victims while being aware that he had misled them into believing they were possessed by evil spirits.
In the second count, Mr Nyarembe was accused of obtaining Sh101.5 million from Mr Mahendra by falsely claiming he would perform exorcism rites to free the victim’s family from evil spirits.
In the third count, the court heard that the suspect acquired gold jewellery worth Sh3 million from the victim by falsely asserting that he would cleanse it of evil spirits.
He allegedly committed this offence at 8 pm on February 12, 2024.
Mr Nyarembe was also accused of being unlawfully present in Kenya, where the State informed the court that the suspect was found in the country without any travel documents.
The court heard that the suspect was found in Nyali on August 20, 2024, without proper travel documents permitting him a legal stay in Kenya.
Mr Nyarembe, however, denied all the charges when he appeared before Mombasa Senior Resident Magistrate Gladys Olimo.
The magistrate ordered that the suspect be released upon execution of a Sh15 million bond, without the alternative of a cash bail.
He is also required to provide two Kenyan sureties in addition to the Sh15 million bond since he is a foreigner.
Mr Nyarembe was also instructed to deposit his passport in court before he can secure his freedom upon meeting the bond conditions imposed on him.
The court imposed strict bond conditions after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), represented by Counsel Alex Gituma, urged the magistrate to take into account that Mr Nyarembe was a foreigner.
The prosecution also requested that the court take into account the sum of money that is claimed to have been lost in the fraud.
