Crime. CCTV footage shows man stealing car outside night club

Police in Nyeri are looking for a man captured on camera stealing a car from a popular nightclub last week.

In the CCTV footage released by the club, the man is seen making his way into the club premises at 8.45pm, then driving away in a white Honda Fit parked outside.

The man enters the club, assesses the situation inside before making his way to the washroom. He then exits only to return to the washroom again for about six minutes.

The man makes his way out of the club, now pretending to stagger, and goes directly to the car which he opens and drives away. 

The owner of the car, Maureen Makori, steps out moments later to receive a phone call only to realise that her car is not where she had parked it. She was still in possession of the keys.

The CCTV footage is not clear enough to show what the man used to force the door open but he is captured fiddling with it before prying it open and driving off.

This is the first incident to be caught on camera as Nyeri struggles with increased car thefts and carjackings.

Nyeri Central OCPD Muinde Kioko said police had crucial leads on the suspect.

A few weeks ago, a man was captured and beaten by a crowd as he attempted to steal a car from a parking lot in Nyeri.

In some of the most recent incidents, thieves have made away with vehicles in secure parking lots at hotels, churches and Government offices.

Although the cars were locked, thieves still managed to access and drive them away.

In a similar case last year, a car was stolen from Anglican Church Cathedral compound during a Sunday service while another at the county government offices.

However, police have made headway in their investigations. In the past two months, two suspected car thieves have been charged at the Nyeri magistrate's court.