A chief in Othaya, Nyeri County, was busted with two costly dogs worth Ksh 300,000 that were reported missing from the homestead of prominent Nairobi preacher Bishop, Thomas Wahome Njuguna, of the Helicopter Church.
The dogs, of Terrier species, reportedly went missing in December 2016 from the preacher's Kihuri home only for one of the canines to be spotted at the home of the chief identified as Paul Gachiri Wageni.
According to documents filed at a Nyeri court, Njuguna, who is also a televangelist, bought the domestic animals in Arusha in 2014 and transported them to his rural home.
They were then placed under the care of his farm manager Stephen Macharia Ndichu who reported them missing.
“I reported the matter to the area assistant chief Mr Paul Gachiri to address the matter during barazas as I suspected they might have been taken by one of the neighbours. I returned to Nairobi waiting for any feedback from the assistant chief,” read the statement in part.
In November 2018, Macharia informed him that he had spotted the animals at the chief's homestead who proceeded to the home and positively identified them.
The Bishop's claims were corroborated by his brother, Godfrey Mugo Njuguna, revealing that he discovered the two dogs were missing after he found their kennel broken into.
In his defence, however, Gachiri argued that he acquired the two dogs from the Bishop's mother, Antonia Njambi, in 2013 at Ksh200 each.
Gachiri was on Thursday charged with stealing the two and was released on a Ksh 200,000 bond with an alternative Ksh 100,000 cash bail.
The matter is scheduled for hearing on June 4, 2019.
