Traders charged with stealing rice worth Sh7.1m

VOI, KENYA: Five traders were Monday charged in connection with the theft of 1125 bags of rice worth over Sh 7.1 million stolen along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway in Taita-Taveta County.

The accused Martin Njuguna, Peter Muthee, Antony Mbugua, Alipanda Mbeta and Charles Mwachira denied the charge before the Voi Senior Resident Magistrate Benard Mogire Onkoba who released them on a bond of Sh 500,000 or cash bail of Sh 300,000 and a surety of a similar amount.

The third accused Antony Mbugua was remanded at the Voi GK Prisons after failing to raise the bond and cash bail respectively.

The accused were charged that on the night of 11th and early of 12th February this year at unknown time at Shell Petrol Station along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway in Voi, jointly with others not before court, stole 625 bags of red rose rice and 500 bags of fine grade rice, which were being conveyed in a truck, all valued at Sh 7,119,400 the property of Busbull Trading Company Limited.

The magistrate who directed the prosecution to supply the accused with all statements of the witnesses fixed the hearing of the case on April 30 this year.