Twenty arrested over mart looting, theft, riot vandalism

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has arrested more than 20 people alleged to have participated in the looting and burning down of properties.

The police have also recovered some of the goods stolen during the nationwide anti-finance bill protests.

 Last week, the DCI opened investigations into the looting and torching of Chieni supermarkets in Nyeri and Nanyuki where they recovered several stolen goods and arrested a number of suspects.

 Among the items recovered included washing machines, refrigerators, water dispensers, bicycles, kitchenware, food items, and clothing among many others.

 At a rental house in Nanyuki, a 24-year-old man was arrested after his image was captured in circulated phone recordings of stealing from the supermarket.

Chris Nduni Wamuhu, was found with a stolen Hisense fridge, Uken water dispenser, coffee cups, teaspoons, hotpot dishes, luminarc plates among others that the police recovered.

Stolen clothing

 In another house also in Nanyuki, a man was found with stolen clothing. Moses Njuguna Gachwe, 30, was found with 22 pairs of khaki trousers, nine T-shirts, 24 undergarments and sandals, all suspected to have been stolen during the demonstrations.

 In the same town, 35-year-old Charles Kaariri Mumbi was found with a junior ride bike, while John Ndirangu Ndiritu, 41, was found with six vacuum flasks, a shopping trolley, an LG fridge and several luminarc plates and cups. The police arrested both of them and recovered the goods.

 The investigations in Nyeri and Nanyuki are ongoing with police recovering more stolen properties in various suspects’ homesteads.

 The 12 suspects who were found culpable were arraigned at the Nanyuki Law Courts last Friday and were released on a Sh15,000 cash bail and two sureties of similar amount each pending the hearing of the case.

Arson incident

 In Kikuyu constituency in Kiambu county, six more suspects were arrested in connection with an arson incident in which the local NG-CDF offices were looted and torched and several goods recovered from their houses.

 Two of the suspects were arraigned before a Kiambu court on July 1 for the offences of arson and malicious damage to property.

 Naftary David Njama Gatuota and Joseph Kuru Waweru with others still at large were accused of taking part in the setting on fire of the Kikuyu NG-CDF offices valued at Sh20 million.

They also faced charges of malicious damage to property where they set on fire an NG-CDF vehicle valued at Sh2.5 million and also damaged the office of the Kikuyu Sub-County Deputy County Commissioner valued at Sh600,000. The offences were committed on June 25.  The two suspects denied all three counts and were released on a Ksh1 million bond with a surety of a similar amount or a cash bail of Sh200,000.

 From the house of 28-year-old Samuel Muiri Ruiyi, a driver at a primary school in the Nderi area, a 32-inch TV set was recovered. He later led the officers to his accomplice Samuel Wanjohi, 23, who was also in possession of another 32-inch Sony TV belonging to the CDF offices.

 A 16-year-old Form Three student from a Kabete school was also among those arrested after he was captured on CCTV footage disappearing with a Bluetooth speaker. The speaker was also recovered.

 Additionally, in the Rironi area of Limuru, Paul Kuria Njenga, 23, was also arrested after he was seen stealing several equipment that he later sold to unsuspecting buyers in Kitengela. The suspects are pending arraignment at the Kiambu Law Court.

 Meanwhile, in Nairobi, four people were charged with breaking into a building and stealing assorted goods worth estimated over Sh450,000 from various stalls.

 The four, William Barasa, Dennis Kamau, Brian Thirikwa Wangechi and Christopher Nyogoro appeared before Senior Principal Magistrate Ben Mark Ekhubi where they pleaded not guilty to the charges.