In a landmark ruling, Senior Principal Magistrate Eric Malesi of Wajir Court sentenced two men to death for violently robbing a boda boda rider in Wajir Township.
The incident occurred on the night of November 13, 2025, at around 9:30 pm when the victim, Nesiah Thuranira Mwenda, was approached by Abdiaziz Ali Ahmed, alias "Odi," and Abdiwahab Mohamed Hassan, alias "Steam Boy," pretending to be passengers along Baraza Park Road.
Shortly after, five other men emerged and surrounded Mwenda, brandishing knives. The gang assaulted him, threatened his life, and stole his Tecno Pop 8 mobile phone valued at Sh30,000.
The assailants forced Mwenda to accompany them to an M-Pesa outlet operated by Josephat Kimathi, where they coerced him into revealing his M-Pesa PIN. They withdrew Sh15,000 from his account, receiving Sh10,000 before Mwenda escaped and warned the agent not to release further funds. Despite this, the remaining Sh5,000 was transferred to a mobile number later linked to the identity details of the first accused’s sister, who was not involved.
During investigations, the stolen phone was recovered from the first accused’s mother. Although the women declined to testify, the prosecution presented strong evidence connecting the accused to the crime.
The prosecution, led by Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Robert Nyoro, called three witnesses and submitted several exhibits. Both accused gave sworn testimony but did not call any witnesses in their defense.
After evaluating the evidence, Justice Malesi found the prosecution had established guilt beyond reasonable doubt, convicting both men of robbery with violence under Sections 295 and 296(2) of the Penal Code. Abdiaziz also faced an alternative charge of handling stolen property.
Following mitigation, the court imposed the death sentence as stipulated by law. The convicts were informed of their right to appeal within 14 days.
