The attackers overpowered the officer and made away with his AK-47 rifle, which was loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition.
Two men who robbed a police officer of his AK-47 rifle and 30 rounds of ammunition during a night attack at Mombasa’s Bonje Industrial Park have each been sentenced to seven years in prison.
The office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) said Senior Resident Magistrate Hamlick Muriithi Mwenda passed both judgments and sentences after finding that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The magistrate found that the evidence presented in court linked Pius Oketch and Kellas Wanyonyi to the robbery.
The magistrate dismissed the accused persons’ claims that police officers had framed them, finding no evidence of personal grudges or fabrication of evidence.
The court noted that all 17 prosecution witnesses gave compelling evidence in support of the convictions.
The case arose from a night attack in which a gang targeted Police Constable James Kobia, who was guarding the industrial park alongside private security guards.
The attackers overpowered the officer and made away with his AK-47 rifle, which was loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition.
A mobile phone belonging to one of the security guards was also stolen during the incident.
Prosecutors presented evidence detailing how investigators followed crucial leads that eventually resulted in the suspects being identified and arrested.
One of the stolen mobile phones was answered, giving investigators information that helped establish a network of people linked to the robbery.
The evidence also showed that Wanyonyi had recruited several casual labourers on the false claim that they had secured night work to load goods at Bonje Industrial Park.
The group went to the premises shortly before the robbery.
Three days after the incident, police arrested Wanyonyi, who led them to Oketch’s residence at Narcol Estate.
Investigators found Oketch hiding in the ceiling, where they recovered the stolen AK-47, its magazine and all 30 rounds of ammunition concealed in a sack.
Oketch was charged with conspiracy to commit a felony, possession of a firearm and ammunition without a firearm certificate, and possession of government stores.
He received sentences of between two and seven years for the offences, with the court directing that the terms run concurrently.
His effective custodial sentence was therefore seven years.
Wanyonyi was separately sentenced to seven years for conspiracy to commit a felony.
