How storekeeper, guard escaped 5-year jail term

BY WAHOME THUKU

An elderly man, Mr Nagin Bhai Darji was employed as a storekeeper by a Kenyan company Equip Agencies Ltd. The company owned by Mr Divesh Patel runs godowns in various towns in Kenya.

Nagin 60, was in charge of the company’s warehouse at Bamburi Road in Industrial Area, Nairobi.

On June 29, 2006, Nagin went to the warehouse and after opening it, he realised that something was amiss. Some goods were missing. He immediately called a brother to Mr Patel who then called the Managing Director. Patel went to the godown and confirmed that indeed all the rolls of printing paper worth about Sh18.5 million were missing.

He immediately suspected Mr Nagin as the thief.

He reported the matter at Embakasi Police Station and on the same day Nagin was arrested by CID officers. The following day, Nagin was charged before Makadara Chief Magistrate K. Muneeni alongside a security guard Mr Boniface Opiyo.

Shortly after, Nagin’s son Vipul Nagin was also arrested and enjoined in the case. The three were accused of having broken into the godown between June 1, 2005 and June 29, 2006 and stealing the paper. They were released on Sh2 million each.

Embakasi CID officer Nicholas Muriuki investigated the case.

The prosecution called eight witnesses. Patel who was the first witness told the court that Nagin worked for the company between June 1, 2005 and June 29, 2006. Patel said he did not know when the theft took place.

He said to carry all that paper away one needed to put a 40ft container to work for at least three weeks. Patel told the court that no one could have taken the paper through the roof. He said Nagin would collect the keys to the warehouse every morning.

He said he visited the godown in February 2006 and everything was in place then. That was four months before.

Another security guard at the company Mr Charles Wang’ombe claimed on May 20, 2006, he was approached by Vipul who said he needed some paper from the company. Vipul was not an employee of Equip Agencies.

Wang’ombe said Vipul offered him Sh50,000 to let him enter the godown. Vipul promised to return two days later but on May 22, 2006. Wang’ombe was not working, as he was ill, the court heard. Wang’ombe had also been arrested and locked up for four days. Wycliffe Nduku a storekeeper at the company said he was involved in moving the goods from Mombasa to the godown at Bamburi road.

Zeberio Mwatila a forklift driver said the goods were moved into the warehouse between June and September 2005. They were allegedly received by Nagin who signed the delivery notes. An accountant, Vimal Patel, told the court that the goods were in stock before June 28, 2006.

The investigator PC Muriuki told the court that there was no break-in at the godown and a duplicate key or other means were used to access the building. He said Nagin had even denied having signed the delivery notes. He took his specimen handwriting and submitted them to document examiners. Muriuki claimed that Vipul had been seen near the Godown on June 28, 2006 at 2.30pm.

While the case was still going on, Vipul filed a complaint at the Kenya-Anti Corruption Commission that investigator Muriuki had solicited a bribe from him to end the case.

Constable Muriuki was arrested by KACC officers, charged with corruption and immediately interdicted. That case is still going on.

In turn, Muriuki filed a report that Vipul had threatened to kill him. Vipul was also arrested and charged with threatening to kill the police officer. That case is also going on.

Meanwile, Vipul put up a strong defence, claiming he was in Kisumu between June 28 and July 1, 2006 when he was said to have visited the warehouse. He produced receipts to prove that he spent the night at a hotel in Kisumu and that he parked his car in the town.

Corruption

On June 20, 2006 when he allegedly tried to bribe the security guard, he said he was actually on a business trip to Kampala, Uganda. He produced his passport and other documents to show that he crossed the Uganda border using his car.

Vipul called seven witnesses to prove that he was away on all those days. He told the court that investigator Muriuki had been charged before a corruption court for trying to extort money from him and that he had been interdicted.

Opiyo said he only worked for Equip Agencies for four months between February and June 2006. Nagin confirmed that he opened the gates to the godown on June 29, 2006 when it was discovered the goods were missing.

He said he never kept the keys overnight and only had them when on duty.

He only signed delivery notes but never verified the content of the wooden boxes received at the godown. The three were convicted and sentenced to five years in jail. They spent five months at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison then they were released on bail pending appeal at the High Court. Justice Fred Ochieng heard the appeal. The judge questioned how the police arrived at the conclusion that the offence took place between June 1, 2005 and June 29, 2006 yet Patel had last visited the store in February.

"The prosecution produced no evidence to show that any theft occurred from as early as June 2005."

Then he looked at the alibi produced by Vipul. "It’s significant that although he produced documents and witnesses to back up his alibi, the prosecution did not take any steps to challenge it," Ochieng said.

He thus accepted that Vipul was not in Nairobi between June 28 and July 1, 2006.

And since Vipul was Nagin’s son he did not need to bribe the guard to get the keys, which his father kept anyway. The goods were moving into the godown between June and September 2005 and no evidence to show what moved out was stolen and more so by the appellants.

"I cannot understand how goods which could only be carried away over a period of three weeks using a 40-foot container could have been stolen in one day. With that the High Court quashed the conviction and set aside the sentence. Vipul, his father Nagin and Opiyo were set free.