Construction worker in court for violently robbing Chinese national in Nairobi
A construction worker is battling robbery with violence charges after he was found with Sh348,000 believed to be part of a Sh8.7 million that was robbed from a Chinese firm employee.
Robert Walumbengo Mutanyi, 28, is facing charges of robbery with violence contrary to section 295 as read with section 296 (2) of the Penal Code where he is accused of robbing Jinlin of Sh8.7 million on August 2.
Mr Jinlin, a senior finance officer at a Chinese construction firm had borrowed the money from a friend to pay casual workers at the company before he was attacked and robbed.
The complainant was also robbed of his mobile phone worth Sh170, 000, eyewear worth Sh30, 000 and headphones during the alleged robbery.
His driver had stopped and stepped out of the car for some shopping leaving Mr Jinlin alone before he was attacked by the three suspected gangsters during the night robbery.
He was hit on the head three times with a beer bottle after he resisted the order from the three thugs who were ransacking the car to loot the money.
Mr Jinlin was being driven back to an apartment behind the mall by a motorist when he was attacked and robbed after the driver stopped and alighted to go to a nearby shop.
He later went home and informed his neighbors before proceeding to a hospital.
The robbery was later reported at the Kasarani Stadium police station and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) took up the investigations.
Mr Mutanyi was arrested the following morning in Kariobangi North Estate where he was found with huge sums of money in suspicious circumstances.
A Nyumba Kumi official called the area chief after he was informed that there was a man walking around with a huge amount of money and the chief informed police officers who arrested Mr Mutanyi.
The accused person had requested Mpesa shop attendants if he could deposit Sh100, 000 on his Mpesa account and more others on different bank accounts raising suspicion on the source of the money he had.
They informed the Nyumba Kumi official. After the arrest, Mr Mutanyi was found with Sh348, 000 in pockets and a carrier bag, and a deposit slip showing he had deposited Sh100, 000 at a bank.
Police also established that he had nearly Sh170, 000 in his Mpesa account and he could not satisfactorily explain the source of the money.
During interrogations, Mr Mutanyi allegedly confessed he was among thugs who robbed a Chinese national the previous night with his two accomplices.
However, when he was arraigned before Principal Magistrate Eric Mutunga, Mr Mutanyi denied the charges and sought lenient bail and bond terms through his lawyer Alice Maina.
He was released on a bond of Sh400, 000 with a surety of a similar amount without an option of a cash bail. The case will come up for a mention on September 13, 2023, before hearing starts on November 29 this year.
DCI has listed the two Mpesa shop attendants who Mr Mutanyi had approached while attempting to deposit the cash before they reported him to the Nyumba Kumi official, and the police officers who arrested the suspect as major witnesses in the case.
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