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A Nairobi court has issued an arrest warrant for gospel artist Alex Apoko, widely known as Ringtone, after he failed to attend a scheduled court appearance.
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Ringtone was expected to appear before Senior Principal Magistrate Dolphina Alego to answer to fraud charges but was absent.
According to the charge sheet, Ringtone is accused of conspiring with Alfred Juma Ayora to fraudulently acquire a parcel of land measuring 0.1908 hectares (approximately 0.47 acres) located in Nairobi.
The property, identified as Nairobi Block 99/142, is valued at Sh50 million.
Ringtone allegedly attempted to claim the land through adverse possession, arguing he had resided on the property in Karen for over 20 years.
Ayora appeared in court on March 28, pleaded not guilty to the charges, and was released pending trial. Ringtone, however, failed to show up then and was directed to appear on April 14. He missed that session as well.
His lawyer, identified as Mr. Karanja, informed the court that Ringtone fell ill on April 10 and was treated at Nakuru County Teaching and Referral Hospital. He later worsened and was admitted to Trinity Care Centre in Ngong on April 13, the lawyer claimed.
Karanja submitted medical documents in court, but the magistrate questioned their authenticity, noting that the documents lacked verification and were not original copies.
“There is nothing before this court to sufficiently explain the accused’s absence,” Magistrate Alego stated.
Despite Karanja’s appeal to allow Ringtone to attend virtually from his hospital bed “on human grounds,” the request was denied.
Consequently, the court issued an arrest warrant for Ringtone and scheduled the next mention of the case for May 7, 2025.
