- Respondent is said to have lured the complainant into a land selling deal, taken her to a Kitengela hotel where he drugged her and stole phones and money.
- Police said that he is also wanted by Huruma police station for a similar offence.
A 55-year-old Kirinyaga man accused of drugging women unconscious and stealing from them will remain in custody for 10 days.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations on Tuesday obtained a court order to detain John Mutisya Murango during investigations.
He was arraigned before Makadara chief magistrate Emily Ominde but he didn’t take plea as police needed time to investigate.
Investigator Joash Ambura attached to DCI Kayole told court he is investigating a case of stupefying and stealing. A woman reported a case to Kayole police station on April 12.
He said that on April 11 at midday the complainant was taken to Kitengela by the respondent to see a plot he said he was selling.
On arrival in Kitengela, Mutisya insisted that they first relax at a hotel room before seeing the plot.
At the hotel, Mutisya is alleged to have removed energy drinks and beer from his bag.
He gave the complainant an energy drink and he took the beer.
After a few minutes, the woman blacked out.
She then woke up at 6pm to find her two mobile phones and Sh43,000 in cash missing from her purse.
She later realised Sh83,323 had been transferred from her M-Pesa account to an unregistered user number Mutisya had earlier used to communicate to her.
She told police that the money was transferred without her consent.
Police searched for him until they got a tip-off from the public leading to his arrest on July 4.
Investigator Ambura said Mutisya doesn’t have a fixed abode in Nairobi as his family is in Kirinyaga county.
“Your Honour, we need more time to conduct an identification parade because the suspect is believed to be a habitual offender and he’s also wanted by the Huruma police station on similar allegations,” he said.
He said they also need to analyse communications and money transfer data requested from Safaricom and Airtel and prepare the complainants' medical reports.
Senior state prosecutor Joseph Burugu backed the application. He said the offence is serious and can attract a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. If the accused is released, he might escape, he said.
Mutisya asked the court to free him on lenient cash bail as he has a family that depends on him.
The matter will be mentioned on July 16.
(Edited by V. Graham)