Man who vanished for three years after Sh1.1m chewing gum theft wins jail term reduction

A Makueni man who disappeared for three years after being charged with stealing high-value chewing gum has successfully petitioned the High Court in Makueni to have the time he spent in remand deducted from his three-year prison sentence.

James Karuko Kamau was convicted of breaking into a building and committing a felony.

On the night of June 17–18, 2023, Kamau and others not before the court broke into Anzal Stores Wholesale Shop in Sultan Hamud, Mukaa Sub-County.

They stole 96 boxes of chewing gum valued at Sh1.104 million, Sh570,000 in cash and a computer CPU belonging to Abdullahi Shariff.

Kamau was initially released on bond but absconded for three years. He was eventually arrested on April 13, 2026, after which his bond was cancelled and he was remanded in custody as the case proceeded.

On August 3, 2026, Senior Resident Magistrate G Okwengu convicted him and sentenced him to three years in prison. However, the court failed to specify the exact period he had spent in custody that should be deducted from his sentence.

Kamau subsequently filed a Notice of Motion dated August 14, 2026, seeking a revision of the sentence to account for his time in remand. The prosecution left the matter to the court’s discretion.

In a ruling delivered on October 30, 2026, Justice JN Onyiego reminded the trial court of its duty to account for time spent in custody when sentencing a convicted person. The judge noted failure to do so could result in an excessive and disproportionate sentence to the accused person.