Four to die for stealing pineapples

A Thika court has sentenced four men to death for stealing pineapples.

Julius Mugambi Njeri, 30, Edward Njoroge, 40, and Francis Mwangi, 29, were found guilty of violently stealing pineapples from a Delmonte farm.

On the night of November 11, last year, jointly with others not in court, they injured a security dog by stabbing it with a Somali sword.

However, one of the accused claimed that the company guards smeared his blood on the sword to implicate him.

"I was bitten by one of the dogs and the guards took a panga which they smeared with my blood," he claimed.

We Have Dependants

But Chief Inspector Nancy Muthuri said that a veterinary doctor ascertained that the blood on the weapon was that of a dog.

The court heard that the accused overpowered security officers and threatened them with death if they raised alarm.

The officers were rescued by their colleagues who unleashed dogs on the attackers.

Muthuri said 30 pineapples valued at Sh1,500 were recovered.

In mitigation, the accused told the court they were orphans and had dependants.

Chief Magistrate Christine Meoli said they could appeal the sentence within 14 days