A man suspected of rape jumped from the frying pan into the fire after he was caught stealing the phone of the prosecutor in charge of his case at the Kibera Law Court.
In a bizarre incident that occurred on Wednesday, April 2, the man had gone to the court with his father to be informed on the hearing date of an ongoing rape case involving him.
In the midst of all that, the prosecutor left the room, leaving his phone. The man is said to have consequently ended up stealing the phone that was lying on a desk. Interestingly, the man denied stealing the phone, asserting that he “collected” it.
“I did not steal any phone from anyone. I collected it. It was there (on the desk). In fact, what attracted my attention to it was a paper. When I opened the paper, I saw the phone and collected it,” the man averred.
When the prosecutor came back, he realised his phone was nowhere to be seen. This prompted a search where it was discovered that the man had taken the phone, long after he had left the court’s premises.
As per authorities, CCTV footage from the courts showed the man casually picking up the phone and quietly going on about his business, then leaving the court.
Consequently, police officers and court officers reined in the suspect and arrested him over the offence.
The officers embarked on further investigations that unraveled a web of phone theft in Kawangware. This is after the suspect led them to his purported accomplice, a lady who was suspected to have the stolen phone.
In the wake of the incident, the suspect’s father pleaded for the court’s mercy, assuring the authorities that he would seek to find the phone on behalf of the officers and return it to the prosecutor.
“My prayer is that the phone is found. My son should talk to this lady and get back the phone. If it is possible, I will volunteer to take the phone once recovered to the police officers,” he stated.
The suspect’s father also expressed his worry over the two cases that now face his son, admitting that he was pessimistic about the outcome of the two cases.
In Kenya, the punishment for rape is a jail term of not less than ten years that can even stretch to life imprisonment. Further, the jail term for phone theft is three years.
The man and his accomplice are currently in police custody, with the man set to face a hearing over his fresh crime on Thursday, April 3.
