Nairobi News

A 20-year-old woman is facing a warrant for her arrest, accused of stealing USD5,000 and Sh20,000 from her boyfriend, whom she refers to as “stingy,” alleging he did not provide any financial support despite their three-month relationship.

The warrant against Stella Mwikali was issued by Principal Magistrate Erick Mutunga of the Makadara Law Courts after she failed to turn up in court to plead to theft charges.

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Mwikali is facing charges of stealing contrary to section 268 (2) of the Penal Code, where she is accused of stealing from MD Labu Kazi, a foreigner she has been dating after he arrived in the country.

She is charged alongside her friend Kalekye Mumo and two men who allegedly helped them change the dollars into Kenyan money. The two others are Charles Wambua and Moses Kilonzi.

Ms Mumo is separately charged with handling stolen property after she was allegedly found with Kazi’s suitcase at her house in Pipeline Estate in Embakasi, Nairobi, which she is accused of dishonestly retaining in the course of stealing, knowing or having reasons to believe it was stolen.

She was allegedly found with the suitcase at her house at the time of her arrest on November 27, 2023.

They were accused of stealing the cash on November 10, 2023, which they all denied.

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Mwikali had been released on a police cash bail, and the same was forfeited after she failed to appear in court to be charged.

She is accused of stealing the money from 35–year–old Kazi, a Bangladesh national, who she has been living with at an apartment in Ngara, Nairobi.

They met in September after Kazi was hooked up with her by a staffer at a hotel where he was staying upon arrival in Kenya, and they started co-habiting immediately.

However, Mwikali allegedly told the police that Kazi did not pay her anything and kept promising to pay her before he left to return to his home country.

The complainant had received the money for his upkeep from his friend who lives in another country.

After converting some of the money into Kenyan currency (Sh20,000) and the remainder into US dollars on November 9, he stored the cash in his suitcase at the residence he shared with Mwikali.

Although they slept together in the house, Kazi discovered the next day that Mwikali was no longer present.

Upon investigation, he realized that his suitcase, containing the cash, clothes, and travel documents, had vanished.

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Mwikali had allegedly taken the bag to Ms Mumo’s house immediately after stealing it, and they cut open the bag and found the dollars.

They took some of the dollars and sought help from a neighbor who referred them to the two men who were to help them exchange them for Kenyan money.

They gave them USD2,600, and they were given Sh160,000 in exchange.

However, the remaining dollars (2,400) were allegedly stolen by Ms Mumo’s boyfriend, who had a spare key to her house. He has since disappeared and switched off his phone.

The complainant caught up with the two but found no money. He reported the matter to the Pangani police station, and they were arrested.

Their accomplices were also traced and arrested.

Ms Mumo and her two accomplices – Wambua and Kilonzi, pleaded for lenient bail and bond terms through lawyer Eunice Katila, claiming they were all jobless but living within the jurisdiction of the court and promised to attend trial.

They were released on a surety bond of Sh200,000 and an alternative cash bail of Sh300,000. The case will be mentioned on January 16, 2024, for a pre-trial.

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