Three convicted of robbery and three others freed for lack of evidence

Three men have been convicted of stealing a safe containing Sh481,000 and a motorbike.

The three were among six persons charged with two counts of robbery with violence and two other counts of illegally handling stolen property.

The court was told that Samwel Wafula, Michael Buoro, Oscar Masinde, Iddi Salim, Atanas Nandi and Fredrick Odhiambo violently robbed two night guards at Maryland Stores in the town.

The guards were killed during the robbery.

In convicting Wafula, Buoro and Odhiambo, the magistrate said the prosecution had proven the case of stealing but not that of robbery with violence.

“I have carefully considered the evidence on record and there is no doubt that the watchmen were murdered and the property they were guarding, motorbike and safe, stolen. However, the evidence does not support robbery with violence charges but supports theft,” said Principal Magistrate Hazel Wandere.

However, she ruled that the evidence against Masinde, Salim and Nandi was not enough to warrant conviction.

The court heard that the six broke into Maryland Stores on the night of September 7, 2016 after killing two security guards.

Buoro was arrested in his house in Lurambi, where the stolen motorbike was recovered. He was also found in possession of a job tag from one of the watchmen. He gave police information that led to the arrest of Odhiambo, from whom the safe was recovered.

The magistrate noted that Salim was rescued by the police from a mob that wanted to lynch him, accusing him of being behind a series of robberies. During the trial, he admitted that he had escaped from Kibos Prison.

Ms Wandere ordered the probation officers to file their individual pre-sentencing reports. The matter will be mentioned on October 26.