Garbage collector pleads guilty of stealing police officer’s phone

A daring 40-year-old garbage collector who stole a police officer’s phone at the Pangani police station’s report office in Nairobi on Wednesday, May 10 pleaded guilty. Joseph Kariuki admitted that he stole Police Constable Kibet Kirui’s phone worth Sh19,500 on April 16 and pleaded with the magistrate to forgive him.

The suspect was arraigned before Makadara Chief Magistrate Francis Kyambia where the court heard that PC Kirui had left his phone charging at the report office as he went out for lunch on the material day.
On return, he found the phone missing and none of his colleagues had seen anyone pick it up.

Investigations were launched and the CCTV cameras at the station were reviewed where the suspect was captured picking up the phone. Kariuki was later arrested at the station where he had gone to collect rubbish and found PC Kirui at the same report office, and upon interrogation, he denied having stolen the phone.

The accused person was shown the video footage where he is captured stealing the phone but he flatly denied the theft at the station before he was locked up. However, when he was arraigned he admitted having stolen the phone and told the magistrate he will never steal again.

Kyambia remanded Kariuki in custody until May 30 and ordered for a pre-sentencing report.