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Five charged with stealing motorbikes


Five men suspected to be members of a cartel involved in the theft of motorcycles in Nairobi have been charged with conspiracy to commit theft, actual theft, and handling stolen property.

Jibril Hassan Edin, Isaac Hassan Ibrahim, Rooney Jahwan Elisha, Kelvin Omboke Otieno, and Stephen Munga were arraigned at Kibera law courts where they all denied the charges before senior resident magistrate Renee Kitangwa.

They were accused of stealing 169 motorcycles from Mugo Auto Limited on diverse dates January and September 2021 after conspiring to commit the crime at an unknown place within the country.

They committed the alleged offences jointly with others at large.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) unearthed the cartel involved in the theft of motorcycles stolen in Nairobi and Nyanza before they were sold elsewhere last week.

Edin was arrested at a shop in Eastleigh on October 6 while Ibrahim was arrested in Moyale Sub-county on October 9.

Edin has allegedly been luring innocent bodaboda riders to go for motorbikes on hire purchase and strike deals with motorcycle dealers that they would complete payment within a year.

He would give them Sh15,000 each to go for the motorbike then give them an additional Sh10,000 to deliver them to him in Eastleigh.

Otieno, a technician, is suspected to have been dismantling the motorbikes to remove the tracking devices and registration plates before packing them in cartons for resale.

He is charged with handling stolen property alongside Munga after he was allegedly found with a motorbike at Munga’s compound in Kiusyani village in Machakos County.

Ibrahim was allegedly found with nine suspected stolen motorbikes and 361 fake motorcycle registration plates at his home.

Edin, Munga, Elisha, Otieno and are charged that on diverse dates between September 27 and October 3, within Langata in Nairobi and Machakos they dishonestly received and retained motorcycles knowing or having reasons to believe them to be stolen.

Ibrahim is charged with committing a similar offence in Moyale Sub County where he is accused of retaining stolen motorcycles.

Through their lawyers, the suspects pleaded with Kitangwa to grant them lenient bail and bond terms claiming they are young Kenyans of meagre income.

Kitangwa ordered that they remain at the respective police stations until Monday pending pre-bail report before setting their bail and bond terms.

State counsel Ann Kirimi had sought that all be ordered to surrender their travel documents but they claimed they don’t have passports.