A shoplifter who stole foodstuffs worth Sh4,472 at Naivas Supermarket within Embakasi in Nairobi pleaded guilty to theft charges.
Ambrose Kipkoech Towett was charged with stealing 14 kgs of sugar, two litres of cooking oil, a loaf of bread, and milk, among other items, at the retailer’s outlet contrary to section 268 (1) as read in section 275 of the Penal Code.
Towett, 30, was also charged with handling suspected stolen goods in contravention of section 322 (1) (2) of the Penal Code after he was arrested leaving the supermarket with the items that he had not paid for.
He was accused of dishonestly retaining the items in the course of stealing them knowing or having reasons to believe them to be stolen goods.
He admitted both charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Mary Njagi of the Makadara Law Courts.
Towett went to the supermarket located in the Kobil area in Pipeline estate while posing as a customer and picked the items that he put in a shopping bag before attempting to leave without paying for them.
However, theft-detecting machines at the exit detected him and triggered an alarm, prompting a security guard and loss control staff to stop him before he disappeared. He was found in possession of the items.
Towett was interrogated by staff at the supermarket but could not explain why he was leaving without paying for the items he was carrying.
Instead, he gave a receipt for items he bought at the supermarket’s branch which is outside Nairobi, two months ago.
He was escorted to the nearby Villa Police station together with the items where he was arrested and the items kept as exhibits.
The supermarket’s branch manager Victor Opiyo and a security guard at the retail outlet were listed as witnesses in the case alongside two police officers, but they will not testify since Towett did not deny the charges.
Towett was remanded in custody until October 24 when police will avail the stolen items in court as exhibits before he is convicted and sentenced.
