Bar flirtation turns to court drama: Woman accused of stealing Sh1.6m
A woman suspected of conspiring with accomplices to steal Sh1.7 million ($12,400) from her drinking buddy at a club in Komarock estate, Nairobi, has been charged with theft.
At the Makadara Magistrate’s Court, Ms Christine Aoko is facing charges of stealing contrary to section 268 (1) of the Penal Code read with section 275 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The accused allegedly stole the money from Mr Paul Oloo Inda on 6 May 2023.
Mr Inda had arrived in the country the day before from a West African country and was met at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport by a friend who took him to Komarock.
His luggage included the cash he had been sent by friends abroad to give to their families.
In the morning of the next day, he left the house with the cash in a bag and went to a nearby shopping centre to exchange money, but found that the exchange rates were very low.
Mr Inda then went to a bar in Komarock to have a drink with friends before going to another club on the same estate.
At the new club they were joined by three women, including Ms Aoko. Later, Mr Inda noticed that his bag of money, which he had left under the table, was missing.
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He reported the matter to the police, who reviewed the bar’s CCTV footage, which had captured the women stealing the money and then leaving.
Ms Aoko was among those caught on CCTV allegedly stealing Mr Inda’s bag.
The CCTV footage has since been sent to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for analysis by cyber crime detectives.
She denied the charges before Senior Resident Magistrate Mercy Malingu and pleaded for lenient bail conditions. The suspect was released on Sh600,000 bail.
The case will come up on 2 June when a pre-trial report will be filed before the court considers granting her cash bail.
Ms Aoko’s accomplice, Ms Claire Otieno, was arraigned in the same court on May 19 where she denied the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Agnes Mwangi and was released on a Sh600,000 bail with a surety in the same sum.
The prosecution intends to consolidate their cases during a mention scheduled for July 27, ahead of the commencement of trial on November 2, 2023.
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