Four men facing robbery charges to wait longer for bail hearing

Four(4) men charged with robbery with violence will spend more time in custody after a Kangundo court postponed their bond and bail hearing to December 18, 2024.

The four(4)-- Mr Duncan Wambua Kimeu, Mr Dennis Ndolo Mutunga, Mr Wambua Kinyili Mutunga, and Mr Charles Mutinda Margaret--appeared before Kangundo Principal Magistrate Sammy Opande. They all pleaded not guilty.

They will be detained at Kangundo Police Station pending the court’s determination of their bail plea.

Recently, the court had set a cash bail of Sh5 million for each one of them, but they appealed.

They were arrested after evading capture for months and face charges of robbery with violence and other related offences.

According to court documents, the four(4) are accused of robbing Titus Muteti Kilika at Kambai Junction along the Kangundo-Mwala Road in Kangundo sub-County, Machakos County, on April 29, 2024.

The robbery involved the theft of a Samsung mobile phone, a national ID card, health insurance card, medical practitioner card, several bank ATM cards (Equity, Family, Sidian, and Shirika), and cash, totaling Sh1,503,111.

The court heard that they threatened Mr Muteti with violence during the robbery.

One of the accused, Duncan Wambua Kimeu, faces an additional charge of providing false information.

On May 1, 2024, Mr Wambua is alleged to have falsely reported to Corporal Patrick Mwakideu at Kangundo Police Station that he had been robbed of cash amounting to Sh4,200, a mobile phone valued at Sh15,000, and personal documents.

The report was allegedly made to divert attention from his involvement in the robbery.

State Counsel Vivian Nyangena opposed the suspects' bail request, citing their flight risk, as it took months and significant effort to track and arrest them. A pre-bail report also indicated that they posed a high flight risk.

Ms Nyangena further stated that the victim, Mr Kilika, expressed fears for his life, alleging that the suspects had issued previous threats and could harm him if released on bail.

The prosecution argued that the suspects were dangerous, highlighting the trauma the complainant endured during the robbery.

Mr Kilika, a retired government officer, was reportedly hijacked and detained during the incident.

It was revealed in court that he had known the first accused, Duncan Wambua, for over 10 years as his taxi driver, which made the betrayal particularly distressing.

One of the suspects, Dennis Ndolo, pleaded with the court to reduce the cash bail, while another, Wambua Kinyili, indicated plans to submit a written appeal.

The bail hearing has been rescheduled for December 18, 2024, at Kangundo Law Courts.