Kenya rejects bail bid by 'ivory kingpin'

Mombasa - An alleged Kenyan ivory smuggler was refused bail by a Mombasa court on Monday in a reversal of an earlier decision granting his release on medical grounds.

Feisal Mohamed Ali was arrested in Tanzania in December and extradited to Kenya to face trial for possession of and dealing in elephant tusks weighing more than two tons, equivalent to at least 114 slaughtered elephants and worth an estimated $4.5m.

A magistrate in the port city of Mombasa ordered Ali's release on a $110 000 bond in mid-March prompting angry protests from conservationists and a High Court appeal by state prosecutors.