Man facing robbery charges after being arrested with ID of mugged KDF officer
A man who was allegedly found with the identification card of a female Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) officer who had been mugged in a matatu has been charged with robbery with violence.
Mr Elijah Mwita Maroa is facing charges of robbing Ms Mary Asoyo of a handbag, an umbrella and a shawl in Starehe Subcounty on January 14, 2023.
Other items that were stolen from Sergeant Asoyo include a blouse, her KDF identification card and a mobile phone. All items stolen from the officer during the robbery are valued at Sh19,200.
Mr Maroa is facing an additional charge of being in possession of public stores contrary to section 324 (2) of the penal code where he is accused of having a KDF’s men’s overall at the time of his arrest at City Park in Parklands, Nairobi on January 16. The overall is suspected to have been stolen or unlawfully obtained.
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He is also facing a charge of handling stolen property contrary to section 322 (1) of the penal code as read with section 322 (2) of the criminal procedure code after he was allegedly found with Ms Asoyo’s KDF identification card.
Ms Asoyo had boarded the matatu in Huruma heading to town where she was to get another matatu to the Department of Defence (DoD) Headquarters in Hurlingham area of Nairobi where she works.
Along the way, three men who were among the passengers in the matatu turned out to be robbers. They confronted her while armed with a knife and robbed her of the handbag which contained the items while threatening to stab her with the knife.
The three men later alighted from the matatu along the same road. She had unsuccessfully pleaded with the matatu’s conductor not to allow them out. After the incident, she also alighted from the matatu and walked back to Huruma.
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The following days she reported the incident at Kilimani Police Station. Mr Maroa was arrested by General Service Unit (GSU) officers at City Park while in possession of a military overall and Ms Asoyo’s identification card.
He was escorted to Parklands Police Station before he was handed over to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Starehe offices.
The accused person denied the charges before Senior Resident Magistrate Mercy Malingu at the Makadara Law Courts. He pleaded for lenient bail and bond terms claiming he is jobless.
The accused was released on a bond of Sh500,000 without an option of a cash bail. The case will be mentioned on February 27, 2023 before hearing starts on March 20, 2023.
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