Two boda boda riders suspected to be members of a gang that has been terrorising Nairobi residents have been charged with robbery with violence.

John Kyalo Makau, alias Jonte, and Thomas Malusi Kilonzo, alias Bosco, appeared before Milimani senior principal magistrate Esther Kimilu and denied charges of robbery with violence. This concerns an incident that led to the death of a police officer on December 24.

According to the prosecution, the accused violently robbed Rahab Muthoni of a mobile phone while armed with dangerous weapons.

The decision to file a robbery charge was arrived at after viewing CCTV footage retrieved from the scene of the crime along Muchai Drive, near Bently Club, within Kilimani in Nairobi.

The suspects had been detained at Kilimani Police Station for 10 days where they were interrogated on the events of December 24, 2022, which left police constable Ken Kavulanga Wali dead. The officer, who was attached to the Prisons department, was killed by an angry mob.

Senior State prosecutor Anne Munyua said: “Police have finalised their investigations although they are still pursuing other members of the notorious gang”.

 Munyua urged the court to close a miscellaneous case filed by the police, which sought to detain the suspects for 10 days. “Police are through with investigations and now the two may be charged, while police pursue other members of the gang that has been terrorising the public in Kilimani area,” said Munyua.

She said a pistol recovered from the dead officer has been taken for ballistic examination to establish whether it may have been used to commit other crimes. The two riders, who allegedly sped off, leaving the officer at the mercy of an angry mob, denied the charge. They applied to be freed on bond.

The court ordered the suspects to deposit a bond of Sh500,000 each. The case will be mentioned on January 18, 2023, for further instructions.

The judge also directed that the suspects be furnished with witness statements to enable them to prepare their defences.

Earlier, the police had alleged that the constable was lynched by an angry mob on Christmas eve after they accosted a woman along Muchai Drive in Kilimani, robbing her of her mobile phone and other items.

However, the family rejected the security agencies’ claim and insisted that their relative was killed by police.