The move by a Vihiga court to declare the charge of robbery with violence unconstitutional has forced the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to prefer lesser charges on a suspect involved in robbery of Sh4.5 million in Kakamega County.
This involved a fake gold dealer where a Dutch national was lured from Dubai to Kakamega and robbed of the Sh4.5 million at gun point on May 28, 2025.
A court in Vihiga declared the charge of robbery with violence unconstitutional, the ODPP revealed.
“The preferred offence of robbery with violence was declared unconstitutional in high court Petition No. E002 sitting at Vihiga,” a letter by the prosecution dated July 10, 2025 said.
The case involves Dutch national identified as Rene Hasager Simon who was robbed of the money after being assaulted by a suspect identified as Sammy Njuguna Smith.
The probe showed that the complainant was robbed at gun point of USD36,000 in cash. The complainant can positively identify the suspect, the probe showed which the prosecution agreed with.
But the prosecution said the preferred offence of robbery with violence was declared unconstitutional in high court Petition No. E002 sitting at Vihiga
In light of the developments, police were told to charge Smith with the offense of demanding property by menaces and causing grievous harm.
The foreigner had been dramatically lured from his comfort zone in Dubai to Kakamega where the incident happened.
Officials linked the incident to urge for cheap minerals and especially gold. The incident happened on May 28, 2025 in a building where the foreigner had been driven to.
The victim was the latest to fall into the trap of the gold scammers who are changing tactics on a daily basis amid police operations to tame the trend.
The victim had traveled from Dubai to Nairobi, then flew to Kisumu before he was picked up to visit an alleged gold site in Ikolomani, Kakamega.
He told police he met an alleged gold handler online who identified himself as only Smith and who claimed to possess gold in Ikolomani Sub County.
He persuaded him to travel to learn how to sell the gold in Dubai. The foreigner traveled to Kenya and then to Ikolomani through Kisumu International Airport.
He was met by Smith and another individual, who boarded a blue car on Wednesday evening to Kakamega town with a bag containing the cash and other valuables.
He was later taken to a building where he was attacked by three men who overpowered him and robbed him of USD36,000 and later abandoned him at Kisumu International Airport, where he reported the incident.
During the robbery, the foreigner sustained bruises on his face and experienced general body pains. He received medical attention from Port Health and was discharged in fair condition.
Police launched investigations and sent their probe file to the ODPP who recommended the lesser charges.
Such incidents where foreigners are conned of their money over fake gold deals have been rampant. Police have asked authorities to classify the trend as a threat to national security and a serious crime.
This is the latest recovery of the fake gold being made in a series of police operations in the country. Police say most of the suspects behind the incidents have been arrested and arraigned and their cases remain active in courts.
The operations have been mounted in the past years after many foreigners complained they had been scammed in the city.
Nairobi was increasingly turning to be the hub for fake gold deals, which prompted the operations.
Police say they have dozens of cases of complaints from foreigners who say they had been conned by Kenyans pretending to be selling gold.
In efforts to address such incidents, the DCI had asked embassies in the country to join the fight against the vice by urging them to advise their nationals engaged in trade to follow procedures.
“We urge the Embassies (High Commissions) to advise their nationals coming in for business to be apprised of con business of gold going on in the country and first contact the Department of Mines and Geology for the procedure that pertains to buying and selling of gold and other precious metals,” the DCI said.
Email your news TIPS to Editor@Kahawatungu.com — this is our only official communication channel
