Traders charged afresh with theft of Sh67m and gold

Lawyer Cliff Ombeta (left standing) during the court session in Nairobi on October 2, 2017. PHOTO | RICHARD MUNGUTI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Six businessmen accused of breaking into 22 shops in Eastleigh, Nairobi, and stealing Sh67 million and gold were charged yesterday at the Milimani law courts.

Lawyer Cliff Ombeta for Hassan Adan Noor, Billow Abdi Abdile, Mohammed Kanyare Billow, Kahiva Mohammed Omar, Peter  Gitali and Gachin Dugow applied to have the matter terminated saying it was a 2015 case in which a State witness refused to testify.

Mr Ombeta told senior principal magistrate Martha Mutuku that the prosecution had redrafted the charge by dropping two suspects to make it look like a new case.

He told the magistrate that the witnesses developed cold feet and “even now they will not show up to tender evidence.”

Mr Ombeta said: “This is a 2015 case. The intended witnesses got fed up with this case because of continued adjournments. What magic will the prosecution employ to ensure the case jumpstarts.”

However, the prosecutor told the court that the investigating officer had located the witness and they had assured him they would appear in court.

The court granted the prosecutors plea by summoning the witnesses to appear in court on January 23, 2018.