A 40-year-old garbage collector who stole a police officer’s phone at Pangani Police Station’s report office in Nairobi is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to theft charges.
Mr Joseph Kariuki admitted that he stole police constable Kibet Kirui’s phone worth Sh19,500 on April 16, 2023 contrary to section 268 (2) of the penal code as read with section 275 of the criminal procedure code.
He pleaded guilty to the charges before the Makadara Law Courts Chief Magistrate Francis Kyambia and sought to be forgiven.
The court heard that on the material day PC Kirui had left his phone charging at the report office as he went out for lunch. When he returned, he found the phone missing and although none of his colleagues had seen anyone picking it.
When CCTV cameras at the station were reviewed Mr Kariuki was identified as captured by the cameras stealing the phone. The suspect was later arrested at the station where he had gone to collect rubbish. Upon interrogation, he denied having stolen the phone.
The accused person was shown the video footage where he is captured stealing the phone but he flatly denied stealing the phone before he was locked up. But when he appeared in court, he admitted that he stole the phone and asked to be pardoned by the court.
The magistrate ordered for a pre-sentencing report and remanded the accused in custody until May 30, 2023.
Mr Kariuki was arraigned barely two weeks after another man was charged with stealing a battery from a police officer’s car at the Industrial Area police station in Nairobi.
Mr Thandermol Falcao admitted that he vandalized corporal Fredrick Oramisi’s car and stole its battery valued at Sh10,000 on April 20, 2023.
He was arrested by a security guard while leaving the station with the battery. He pleaded guilty to charges before Principal magistrate Lewis Gatheru of Makadara Law Courts.
