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Worshipper who stole from Nairobi Chapel jailed for three and half years


A man who broke into an office at Nairobi Chapel on Ngong Road and stole a laptop and accessories all worth Sh110,000 will spend three and a half years in jail.

Joseph Kamau Ndung’u was handed the penalty by senior principal magistrate Esther Bhoke of Kibera Law Courts. He was not given the option of paying a fine.

Bhoke said a probation report tabled before her did not favour Ndung’u to warrant a non-custodial sentence.

Ndung’u on Monday admitted to the charges that he broke into a container at the church and committed the theft. Ndung’u stole after attending a Sunday service at the church.

He stole a laptop and accessories belonging to Rodgers Koome Kinyua, a sound technician at the church.

Ndung’u also stole Sh200 and an umbrella that Kinyua had kept in the laptop bag.

The convict later sold the items including the laptop, a pair of earphones, and hard disk drives among others at Sh7,000.

Kinyua had left the items in the office while visiting another office when Ndung’u stole them. He returned to find the bag missing.

A security guard told Kinyua that he had seen a man leave the office with a bag but he thought he was a staffer and did not, therefore, bother him.

CCTV footage at the premises was reviewed where Ndung’u was captured leaving the premises with the bag.

The court heard that Ndung’u was spotted inside the church during the service on May 15 dressed in the same outfit he was wearing when he stole the items as captured on the CCTV. Police officers were called in and arrested him inside the church.