• They allegedly stole from various Barclays Bank ATMs.
• All released on Sh500, 000 cash bail or an alternative of Sh2 million bond.
Image: FILE
Two policemen, two security officers and a taxi driver were yesterday charged with stealing from Barclays Bank ATMs.
Fredrick Herman Otiya, Daniel Orero Okindo, George Gachungui Njoroge and John Otieno Makambongo are accused of stealing Sh2.84 million at Barclays Bank ATM at Kenya Cinema Plaza along Moi Avenue, Nairobi, on April 16 jointly with others.
Patrick Nyoike Karanja, a taxi driver was charged separately with stealing Sh1 million jointly with others at Barclays Bank ATM at Mater Hospital in Nairobi on April 20.
The five men were also charged with a second count of conspiracy to commit a felony on diverse dates between April 1 and 16.
Appearing before Milimani senior principal magistrate Kennedy Cheruiyot, the officers, G4s employees and the motorist denied the charges.
The taxi driver pleaded for lenient bond terms saying he is a widower. He also made an application for the release of his car which detained at the DCI headquarters saying it is his sole source of income.
They were all released on Sh500, 000 cash bail or an alternative of Sh2 million bond. The pre-trial will begin on May 16.
The suspects were arrested on Friday April 24 by Economic and Commercial Crime Unit detectives investigating the theft of Sh14.5 million from four different Barclays Bank ATMs during the Easter holiday.
Investigating officer Harrison Kasera was allowed to detain the five before charges were preferred against them.
Kasera told the Kiambu court CCTV footage showed the accused were at the ATM at the time of the crime.
The ATMs are said to have been loaded with money days to the date of theft. The G4S team is mandated to load the ATMs.
Kasera said the thieves might have taken advantage of a systems upgrade at the bank to steal the money from the ATMs in Buru Buru, Kenya Cinema, KNH and South B.
On Thursday, DCI George Kinoti stated that the Sh14 million heist was an inside job.
“Some of the bank workers definitely know what happened. The outsiders were there to facilitate the operation,” he said at the Coast police headquarters in Mombasa.