Cop Found Guilty of Robbery with Violence in Nairobi
A police officer was on Monday found guilty of colluding with a thug to rob a cashier at Mitsumi Businesspark in Parklands, Nairobi.
Corporal George Onyango Mtere attached to Ruiru police station and his co-accused Bernard Ogutu Okech were convicted of robbery with violence, after the court found them guilty of robbing Daksha Patel over Sh15 million at gunpoint.
“I find that the prosecution has established their case against officers Onyango and Ogutu beyond reasonable doubt. I accordingly find them guilty of the offence of robbery with violence and convict them under section 215 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC),” Senior principal magistrate Bernard Ochoi ruled.
Sentencing will be on February 6.
While convicting the two, Ochoi noted that the victim positively identified officer Onyango and his accomplice Ogutu as the perpetrators who robbed her handbag inside a lift as she left the building.
Notably, three other accused individuals, despite being unable to explain their possession of the money, the prosecution lacked direct evidence against them and were not identified by witnesses in the CCTV footage.
However, the court invoked section 179(1) CPC, and found them guilty and convicted them of being in possession of suspected stolen property.
Section 179(1) of the criminal procedure code empowers a court, in some particular special circumstances, to convict an accused person of an offence, even though he was not charged with that offence.
It was the case of the victim, a cashier at Mitsumi Computer Garage, that on December 7, 2020, around 5:30 pm, she was counting cash in the office.
Due to exceeding the allowed limit, she decided to deposit $150,000 in a safe at the nearby Golden Tulips building.
While in the lift, she encountered two men and two women. Upon reaching the ground floor, two men entered, one armed.
They demanded her laptop bag, containing the cash. Despite resistance, one snatched the bag. The incident, involving the 2nd and 5th accused, was reported to the police.
Patel identified them through CCTV footage.
The accused were their employees, identified on the 12th floor, but not on the ground floor during the incident.
Patel clarified that bank visits were infrequent, and they used the safe for after-hours transactions.
However the 1st accused, Walter Keverenge, a Mitsumi supervisor, Bernard Ogutu, a welder, Albert Oketch, Mitsumi employee, Wycliffe Mbarani and George Onyango, police officer denied being involved in the robbery
Through their lawyer, they argued that the prosecution did not provide sufficient evidence regarding the generation, storage, and communication of electronic and digital evidence, questioning its admissibility under Section 78A of the Evidence Act.
They also contended that the prosecution failed to prove the complainant’s possession of the stolen money, crucial for establishing ownership and theft.
Additionally, they asserted that the police, despite having ample time, didn’t obtain search warrants for the accused’s premises, violating their rights and fundamental freedoms. As a result, they urged the court not to admit and rely on evidence obtained after these searches.
The magistrate ordered for a pre- sentencing report to be tabled in court and the five suspects be detained until February 6, 2024 when the court will impose its sentence.
In the matter the accused persons Walter Keverengs. Bemand Ogutu Obadi, Albert Okaci Achola, Wycliffe Mharani Mukuviza and George Chiyango Mtare, are charged with the offence of Robbery with violence contrary to section 296(2) of the penal code.
The particulars of the offence are that on December 7,2020 at about 5pm at Mitsumi Business Park Computer Garage Ltd Muthithi Road in Westlands within Nairobi county, jointly with others not before court while armed with dangerous weapons namely pistols robbed Daksha Patel of cash 150,0000 USD equivalent to Sh15,000,000 and at or immediately before or immediately after the time of such robbery, threatened to shoot the said Daksha Patel.