- The accused pleaded guilty before Kibera senior principal magistrate Esther Boke.
- He agreed with the court facts and said he has nothing to say in his mitigation.
Image: CLAUSE MASIKA
Gabriel Maina Njau had taken a motorcycle on loan from Watu Credit at a cost of Sh139,400, hoping the business would earn him good returns to service the loan with ease.
But his best laid plans went up in smoke the moment his new bike hit the road and this saw him resort to unconventional ways that landed him in trouble.
The charge sheet in court reads that Njau, who is in his 30s, gave false information to a police officer on duty at Waithaka police station in Dagoreti within Nairobi county on August 13.
He pleaded guilty before Kibera senior principal magistrate Esther Boke but failed to mitigate after the facts were read to him.
According to prosecutor Nancy Kerubo, Njau after realising he was unable to repay, decided to 'steal' his bike and made a report to the police post where he was issued with an OB number.
“The accused went and told the police that his motorcycle was stolen after he drove back home from work and parked it safe at his house,” Kerubo told the court.
Kerubo told the court the accused informed the officer that he was shocked when he woke up the following day to find his motorcycle missing.
“Watu Credit Sacco official went to the police post and told the officers a word about the fraud that was yet to be perpetrated by the accused. They told the officers that they had tracked the motorcycle and spotted it at the accused's sister's house," the prosecution said.
The prosecution said when the accused, the lenders and the officers went to the said house, they recovered the motorcycle.
They found it parked at the accused's sister’s house and immediately arrested him and arraigned him for giving false information to the police.
The prosecution presented to the court the motorcycle photograph, an invoice, and an agreement they had with the lender among other documents marked as exhibits.
After the facts were read to him, the accused told Boke that everything said in court was true. He did not mitigate either, as he told the court that he had nothing to say.
The magistrate directed that the accused be detained until September 8, when a pre-bail report will be presented in court ahead of his sentencing.