I spent 15 years in prison for a crime I didn't commit

A former prisoner wants the government to compensate him for the 15 years he spent in Machakos Prison after being wrongly arrested, charged and convicted for attempted robbery. Francis Mutuku Nzangi, who operates an open bicycle repair workshop along Machakos-Wote Road says he had gone to buy bicycle replacement parts at a retail shop in Machakos town on June 2, 2004 when he was caught up in the incident that eventually led to his imprisonment.

He explains after he stepped in the shop, other four men also made their way in. The men started comparing different makes of the bicycle parts before attempting to rob the shop.
“It was about 7am when I was going about my bicycle business repair in Machakos town. I wanted to buy bicycle repair parts. While in the shop and in the process of studying different bicycle parts, four men came in. They asked for gear before one of them drew a panga and started beating me and the shopkeeper.” he said, adding that he did not know who the men were.

He said the shopkeeper thought he was in the company of the four men resulting in his arrest and arraignment for attempted robbery. The 64-year-old Nzangi is still continuing with his bicycle repair business after he was discharged from prison  on September 26, 2019. At the time of our visit, we found him walking around while donning an apron and holding a spanner.

After shaking hands, one could tell he had a few minutes after finishing repairing or touching an oily object from the workshop. At the workshop, besides where Nzangi tools were, a bicycle was on its stand. Nzangi says before the case that crippled his life, he was the breadwinner in his family.
After he left jail, he went back home and spent time with his family before he embarked on his job of repairing bicycles.
“I spent time bonding with my family but there came a time I could not continue staying at home because there are needs that must be solved by money,” he says.
Married to one wife and a father of three, Nzangi said the money he makes from repairing bicycles is the only income he uses to cater for his family and grandchildren.
“My daughters have children. Their children are at home. My wife and I are the ones who take care of them with the little we have,” he says.

According to him, the time he served jail wrecked his progress in life and he is appealing to the government for compensation.
“I was sentenced to life but it reached a point and I was acquitted after serving 15 years. I call on the government to pay for the time I spent in jail without committing a crime,” he told The Nairobian, adding  he was looking for funds to expand his workshop to enable him offer a diverse range of services.