How police rescued Uber driver from armed robbers in Mathare
A robbery suspect who is said to have escaped from a scene where one of his accomplices was fatally injured by police in Mathare slums in Nairobi has been arraigned at the Makadara Law Courts.
Victor Adika is facing charges of attempted robbery with violence contrary to section 295 as read with section 297 (2) of the Penal Code.
He is accused of attempting to rob Kenneth Mbitiru of his car valued at Sh700, 000 while armed with a knife.
Andika is accused of committing the crime jointly with others at large and threatening to use violence against Mbitiru during the incident that happened on October 16, 2023 in Kosovo area of the expansive slums.
Mbitiru had received a request from a customer who wanted to be picked up at the Kosovo area and taken to Ruiru and he proceeded to the place.
The driver arrived at the place at around 5:30 am but a person wearing a hood that covered the entire face emerged from the darkness and Mbitiru became suspicious and started reversing to make a U-turn and disappear.
However, before he could flee, the person approached him while armed with a knife and a hammer before two other men arrived at the scene.
The thug tried to break into Mbitiru’s car using a hammer but he raised an alarm and two police officers from Mathare police station who were on patrol responded.
The officers intervened and ordered the three men to surrender but they took off as the officers fired at them to stop, and one of the suspects was killed. The rest escaped deep into the slums.
The matter was taken over by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Starehe offices.
The slain suspect is said to be a hardcore criminal operating in the area and who was on the police radar.
Adika who was known to the two cops was identified as one of the three men who had attempted to rob Mr Mbitiru and was traced and arrested later.
Police officers at the Mathare police station later received information that Andika had been spotted in Kosovo and they proceeded to the area where they arrested and handed him over to their DCI colleagues who concluded investigations and arraigned the suspect.
Adika denied the charges before Principal Magistrate Caroline Mugo of the Makadara Law Courts.
He was remanded in custody until November 13 when the court will receive his pre-bail report which will be prepared by the probation and aftercare services department, to help the court set bail and bond terms. The hearing of the case is set to start on April 22, 2024.
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