More than 100 people, among them 15 minors, were Friday charged at a Naivasha court for allegedly raiding and looting property worth over Sh100 million during the recent wave of anti-Finance Bill 2024 demonstrations.
The 123 suspects, who also included 19 women, were accused of looting Naivas Supermarket, Naivasha MP Jane Kihara’s office and EPCO hotel where they left a trail of destruction.
They all denied the charges and were released on a cash bond of Sh200,000 and a surety of the same or a cash bail of Sh100,000, failure to which they be remanded at Naivasha Maximum Prisons.
The case will come up for mention on July 16, 2024.
During the incident, a group of youths first raided the MP’s office and the adjacent hotel before heading to the supermarket where police nabbed them.
The suspects were charged on Friday virtually before Naivasha Principal Magistrate Juliana Nd’engeri with three counts including stealing, malicious damage and being in possession of stolen goods.
They were charged that on June 25, 2024 in Naivasha town, they raided the supermarket and stole and damaged property worth over Sh70 million.
The suspects who were unrepresented faced two other charges of raiding the MP’s office and EPCO hotel and stealing property worth over Sh30 million.
Police have since heightened security in the town while seeking more suspects involved in the robbery and torching of businesses in the town.
According to Naivasha police boss Stephen Kirui, more armed anti-riot officers drawn from the prisons and the Anti-Stock Theft Unit have been dispatched to the town for patrols.
“They entered Naivas Kubwa and started looting…they burned the CDF office before going to Naivas. There was also a vehicle which was burned,” he said.
“We made some recoveries yesterday including two motorbikes and some mattresses being stolen from the Naivas supermarket.”
The town is among those affected by the protests against the proposed taxes.
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