• One trader shot dead and several hospitalised with injuries
• Police to conduct an identification parade for suspects
Image: MALEMBA MKONGO
Five men caught on CCTV allegedly robbing M-Pesa shop owners in Changamwe and Jomvu will be detained for 14 days.
Chris Omondi, Mutonyi Nzamba, Mohammed Hassan, Brighton Naiya and Evans Mbuliro did not take plea as the investigating officer said police were yet to finish investigations. They appeared before Mombasa principal magistrate Christine Ogweno on Monday.
Police constable Fatuma Rajab said the suspects were arrested on Sunday evening and had not been interrogated. In an affidavit, Rajab said the suspects were caught on camera committing robbery with violence.
She said the suspects were involved in four robberies in Makande, Changamwe and Jomvu.
Rajab said one of the victims was shot dead while several others were injured and are still admitted to hospitals. She said police will conduct a postmortem on the body and present a report during the trial.
“The police are searching for the guns the suspects used while committing the crimes," Rajab said.
An identification parade of the suspects will be done at a later date.
Rajab said the suspects would be taken to Coast General Hospital for a mental assessment to ascertain if they are fit to stand trial.
The suspects did not object to their further detention. However, one of the suspects said he was the only one involved in the robberies and the rest are innocent.
Naiya said he was the boda boda rider caught on CCTV camera escaping with the other robbers. He pleaded with the court to release the other suspects declaring them “innocent”.
But the magistrate said the police will ascertain who was culpable once they complete the investigations and, therefore, the court would allow the application to detain them for 14 days.
The magistrate directed that the suspects be detained at Changamwe police station and brought back in court on April 12.