A church service at Holy Trinity Church in Africa, Mombasa County on Sunday, May 16 was derailed after congregants found property worth Ksh1 million missing after a night robbery.
Reports indicate that the thieves dug a hole through the wall of the pastor's restroom in order to access the church store.
According to pastor Joshua Owiti, the thieves made away with giant speakers, amplifiers, wireless microphones, consumer units, electrical switches, ten plastic chairs, and other electric materials.
Owiti wondered how the thieves were able to dig a hole at night at a time when police ought to be enforcing the curfew protocols.
"We are asking police to investigate and bring into book the perpetrators. We are now grounded as a church, we now need help to acquire new equipment because they are very expensive," he stated.
The church cleaner, Simon Ayieko was the first to report the incident after he arrived at the church during the wee hours of the morning in order to do some cleaning in preparation for the service.
“Immediately I reported the matter to the church leadership, where we also moved quickly to report to Makupa police station.
"Police came with us, questioned some neighbours, and left, we are hoping they will establish the robbers," Ayieko stated.
Robbery cases have been on the rise since the government imposed the night to dawn curfew within the country.
Business owners in various counties have woken up to dire situations as they find their businesses broken into and property worth millions stolen.
This was reflected in the Economic Survey 2020 report released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) which showed that robbery cases rose by an 8.6 percent margin during the first quarter of 2020.
Counties affected by the rising criminal cases during the stipulated period included Nairobi, Kiambu, Meru, Nakuru, Mombasa, Kisii, Machakos and Murang'a.
