Ezekiel Mutuku in court
A Nairobi court has postponed its decision on whether to release a motor vehicle detained as evidence in a robbery with violence case.
The vehicle’s owner urged the court to grant her application, saying she had suffered financially since the car was impounded more than two months ago.
She explained that her daughter had been sent home for lack of school fees and insisted she had no involvement in the crime.
Through her lawyer, she assured the court she was willing to cooperate with investigators and produce the vehicle whenever required. She also requested the release of the logbook she had already surrendered to police.
The investigating officer opposed the application, arguing that the vehicle was a key exhibit.
“This vehicle is a crucial exhibit. It was used to trail the victim from the bank and block him before the robbery,” he told the court.
Police said the car was allegedly used in a June 28, 2025, robbery in Parklands, where a businessman was robbed of Sh999,000 after withdrawing money from I&M Bank.
Detectives later traced the suspects to Eldoret, where one of them, Ezekiel Mutuku, was arrested while using the car with altered registration plates. Traffic police uniforms were also recovered from the vehicle.
The car’s owner, who runs a car hire business, said she had rented it out to a client she now suspects was among those who escaped arrest.
Magistrate Ekhubi directed that the complainant must first identify the vehicle before the court issues further directions.
“Once we release it and it is out there, anything can happen. It can even be stolen, and that would interfere with investigations,” the magistrate said.
Meanwhile, accused person Mutuku asked the court to consider his bond application, citing family hardship. The court advised him to seek a review in a higher court.
The matter will be mentioned again on September 17 for hearing and further directions.
Mutuku was first arrested on July 2, 2025, in Eldoret, after police intercepted the car he was driving with altered number plates.
He is accused of being part of a gang that blocked a businessman along First Parklands Avenue, robbed him of Sh999,000, and fled.
The stolen money has not been recovered.
