A Nairobi-based man pleaded guilty to robbing 1,600 US dollars (Ksh213,280) to throw a house party for his girlfriend and other friends.
While appearing before Makadara Senior Principal Magistrate Agnes Mwangi, the suspect admitted that he stole the amount from his grandmother's house based in Embakasi, Nairobi.
While detailing the incident, the suspect noted that he stole the cash and changed 400 US dollars to Kenyan currency (Ksh53,320).
At the time, he sought to splash the amount on household items including a subwoofer (Ksh4,500), a television set (Ksh7,000), a cupboard (Ksh3,500) and a carpet (Ksh200).
He also claimed in court to have donated Ksh1,000 of the stolen cash to his grandmother.
The suspect told the court that he invited his girlfriend and friends to a house party, whom he accused of stealing part of the cash as they partied.
The suspect claimed that his girlfriend stole part of the money and handed it over to a friend before it vanished.
Both the suspect and his girlfriend were accused of contravening sections 268 and 275 of the Penal Code.
According to section 268: a person who fraudulently and without claim of right takes anything capable of being stolen, or fraudulently converts to the use of any person, other than the general or special owner thereof, any property, is stated to steal that thing or property.
On the other hand, section 275 of the Penal Code sets out the penalty for stealing: "Any person who steals anything capable of being stolen is guilty of the felony termed theft and is liable, unless owing to the circumstances of the theft or the nature of the thing stolen some other punishment is provided, to imprisonment for three years."
The suspect will be sentenced on April 25, 2023.
