Electrician charged with possession of 300 suspected stolen phones

 

Dennis Mutua Kiviatu, an electrician discovered by police with 300 mobile phones along Spine Road in Kayole, Nairobi, faces charges under Section 323 of the Penal Code for alleged possession of suspected stolen property.

Kiviatu, apprehended by Corporal Vincent Marionga and Police Constable David Muriithi on November 25, is accused of having assorted refurbished phones of various makes at the time of his arrest.

Police and the state prosecution office believe the phones have been stolen in pickpocketing, muggings, and violent robberies.

Kiviatu had been detained by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) at the Kayole police station for a week as the investigators tried to identify the owners of the phones.

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Although Kiviatu could not prove ownership of the phones, no one turned up at the station to claim any of them and tell the DCI how they lost them, prompting the officers to charge him with possession of suspected stolen property.

The officers had received information about a suspicious motorist and intercepted the car where they found Kiviatu driving with the phones in the car.

He told the officers that he buys used phones, refurbishes them before selling them again.

However, the suspect could not show a receipt indicating where and when he bought the phones, and he said he couldn’t trace any of those who sold the phones to him.

Kiviatu denied the charges before Principal Magistrate Irene Gichobi of the Makadara Law Courts.

He was freed on a bond of Sh100, 000 with one surety of a similar amount and an alternative cash bail of Sh50, 000. The case will be mentioned on January 10, 2024, for a pretrial and fixing of hearing dates.

The office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has listed Cpl. Marionga and PC Muriithi are the only witnesses in the case against Kiviatu.

By Joseph Ndunda