Court case / FILE

The High Court at Kibera has thrown out an appeal by Evans Ochieng Odhiambo over conviction for robbery violence six years ago.

Odhiambo was jointly charged with others not before the court with two counts of robbery with violence. 

The offence occurred on March 30, 2020, at a shop in Kibera, where the armed appellant and accomplices ordered those present to kneel and robbed complainants of Sh206,000 and two mobile phones. 

Witnesses, including shop attendant Rahab Wanjiku Nyoro and customer Joseph Mburu Ngaita, testified that they saw the appellant brandishing a gun and later identified him in identification parades conducted by Chief Inspector Ann Samali.

Odhiambo denied the offence. He testified that he had been arrested without cause by the roadside.

“DW2, similarly denied the offence, asserting that he was arrested while going about his normal duties, taken to Kabete Police Station, tortured and falsely charged,” the trial court heard.  

The prosecution called 12 witnesses.

Odhiambo was found guilty and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.

He appealed the conviction and sentencing, challenging all the prosecution’s evidence.

He challenged the totality of the prosecution's evidence against which he convicted, thereby contending that the prosecution failed to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt.

He further argued that trial court shifted the burden of proof onto the appellant by disregarding his defence. He urged the court to quash the conviction and set aside the sentence, the court heard.

Delivering the ruling on July 16, Justice Diana Kavedza dismissed the entire appeal.

The court found the prosecution’s evidence, particularly positive identification during police parades, and said the case had been proved beyond reasonable doubt.

Noting that all three witnesses vividly recalled the appellant’s appearance and identified him during the parades, the judge held, “Undoubtedly, the element of identification is satisfied.”

Justice Kavedza found that appellant’s claim that he was arrested without cause “fails to create reasonable doubt that would weaken the case tabled by the prosecution, and is gravely insufficient to quash his conviction as prayed.” 

Consequently, “the appellant's conviction with regard to both counts is affirmed.”

On the sentence, the judge said the trial court had considered the appellant’s mitigation and the fact that he was a first-time offender and had exercised its discretion. 

“The sentence was also legal,” the judge ruled. 

“From the foregoing, I find that the appeal lacks merit and is dismissed in its entirety.”