A man was on Tuesday, April 18, nabbed by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) two months after buying a second-hand phone online.
The detectives tracked him down in Voi and posed as clients seeking his services. They requested to meet him in Nairobi upon which they pounced on him.
In a charge sheet seen by Kenyans.co.ke, the man was charged with stealing contrary to Sections 268 and 275 of the penal code.
"On February 11 at Kayole Mihango stage in Nairobi county, jointly with others not before the court unlawfully stole Ksh47,500 and a mobile phone valued at Ksh28,500, the property of a female victim," the document read in part.
However, according to his friend, the man under custody was not a thief. He claimed that he bought the mobile phone from a popular online shop.
"He bought the phone which was delivered to him in Voi where he was at the time. He then paid Ksh11,000 using his mobile money wallet," Collins stated.
He then shared the mobile money receipt of the payment made on February 20, nine days after the victim was robbed at gunpoint.
Officers proceeded to charge him in court. A bail of Ksh50,000 bail was slapped on the man, who maintained his innocence.
However, an attempt to present the same as evidence to the officers to prove his friend's innocence proved futile as the seller's phone number unreachable.
Police officers handling the case launched investigations to pursue other suspects involved in the armed robbery.
The incident sparked debate among Kenyans, who sympathized and criticized the buyer in equal measure. A number reminded him of the cannon rule - keep off from secondhand phones.
A section of Kenyans raised concerns about the infiltration of robbers into the online mobile phone business.
Sharing a copy of a police report filed under occurrence book number OB84/21/10/2022, a Nairobi resident revealed how a prospective buyer stole his phone.
"On Mashujaa day I put my iPhone X on sale on the same platform. I got a buyer and agreed to meet at a restaurant in town but it was a trap; the guy left with my phone," Kiarie recounted.
