Two thugs face long jail term after one asked female victim to meet him at restaurant after robbery

Two suspected thugs were arrested and arraigned in court after one of them reportedly contacted a female victim following a robbery operation in Nakuru County, leading to their arrest.

According to court documents seen by Citizen Digital, the accused persons Kevin Matundura and Joram Njoroge were part of a four-man gang that raided the home of James Wamugunda, a farmer and businessman, on March 14, 2017 in Bahati Estate at around 9pm.

Two of the gang members are said to have ambushed Wamugunda at his posho mill and assaulted him, before forcefully leading him to the main house where the other pair, Matundura and Njoroge, had already made entry and held the businessman’s wife and maid hostage.

The thugs, after ordering the family members to lie on the floor, reportedly confiscated their mobile phones, home theatre and other assorted goods among them clothes and shoes.

They also allegedly stole 10 sacks of maize and a sewing machine all valued at approximately Ksh. 102,000.

At the same time, Matundura, who was armed with an AK-47 riffle, and Njoroge, with a pistol, allegedly took the maid to a separate room, stripped her naked and gang-raped her.

The gang is said to have left the house at around 5am using Wamuganda’s vehicle, which was later found abandoned on a farm.

A day after the incident, Matundura reportedly reached out to the househelp and apologized for the robbery, before informing her where they had hidden the escape vehicle.

He then requested her to meet him at a restaurant in Mchanganyiko trading centre, to which she agreed.

Unknown to him, however, she had informed police officers of the call and they encouraged her to keep engaging the suspect, after which they cornered him at the meeting point.

The arresting officer said Matundura confessed to the robbery after apprehension and led the cops to a farm belonging to Josephine Waihini, his co-accused Njoroge’s aunt, where the assault weapons and some of the stolen items were recovered.

The two – Njoroge and his aunt Waihini - were hence also rounded up and charged alongside Matundura. They appeared before Principal Magistrate Yvonne Khatambi on December 23, 2022.

All the prosecution witnesses confirmed that, during the robbery, Matundura could often be seen soothing the maid and reassuring her of her safety before asking for her phone number.

“Prosecution Witness 2 (househelp) confirmed that she received a call from an unknown number. The caller informed her of the location of the vehicle and the mortar and apologised,” read court documents.

“She informed the police of the call and they encouraged her to continue conversing with the assailant, which she obliged and agreed to meet the assailant at Choice Hotel.”

The judge found Matundura and Njoroge guilty of robbery with violence, handling of stolen goods and possession of firearms and ammunition.

Njoroge was also charged with rape contrary to Section 7 of the Sexual Offences Act, while Waihini was acquitted of all charges since she was not part of the raid and might not have been aware that her nephew was a criminal.

"The prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt against the 1st  accused (Matundura)...the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt against the 2nd accused person (Waihini)," Judge Khatambi ruled.

Matundura and Njoroge are set to be sentenced on January 23, 2022.