Death sentence upheld despite bike robber’s spirited appeals

James Kamau was sentenced to death for robbing a rider of his motorcycle along Nairobi’s Uhuru Highway in 2014, and now, despite his spirited appeals, he will have to remain on death row.

Both the High Court and the Court of Appeal upheld his conviction and sentence.

The robbery took place on January 8, 2014. According to court records, Kamau—together with an accomplice who was not arrested—violently robbed Geoffrey Ndeto Mutuku of a Honda motorbike, registration number KMDG 508M, valued at Sh99,000.

The case was first heard in the Chief Magistrate’s court at Makadara under Criminal Case No. 1298 of 2014.

After a full trial, the court found Kamau guilty of robbery with violence contrary to section 296(2) of the Penal Code. The offence, which involves theft with the use or threat of violence and more than one offender, carries a mandatory death penalty. He was sentenced accordingly.

Kamau appealed to the High Court in 2016, but the appeal was dismissed. Justice Ogembo upheld both the conviction and the sentence, ruling that the evidence against Kamau was solid.

Kamau later filed a second appeal to the Court of Appeal, arguing that the conviction was unsafe and should be quashed. His lawyer, Ms Naliaka, submitted that the identification was flawed and amounted to dock identification since no proper identification parade was conducted.

She also pointed out that the complainant did not give a description of the robbers immediately after the incident and claimed that the police improperly pointed Kamau out to the complainant at the police post.

Kamau also faulted the prosecution for failing to call a key witness who allegedly handed over the stolen motorbike to another witness. He argued that these gaps raised doubts that should have been resolved in his favour. He further claimed there was no medical or documentary evidence proving violence had been used.

But the Court of Appeal disagreed.

The judges found that Kamau had been found in possession of the stolen motorcycle just two hours after the robbery. It had been tracked to Thigio bus stage using a tracking device.

Witnesses testified that Kamau was seen tightening the steering and conducting a test ride. The next day, he led police to a garage where the stolen bike’s carrier and original invoices were recovered.

The court ruled that the doctrine of recent possession had been properly applied. Under section 119 of the Evidence Act, a person found with recently stolen property is presumed to be the thief unless they provide a credible explanation. Kamau’s defense—that he was just repairing the motorcycle—was found implausible.

On October 3, 2025, three appellate judges tossed the appeal. The judges ruled that the conviction was safe, the evidence lawful and the sentence the only one provided by law for robbery with violence.

INSTANT ANALYSIS

Kamau’s conviction was upheld because he was found in possession of the stolen motorbike shortly after the robbery and failed to give a credible explanation. The court ruled the evidence met the legal threshold for robbery with violence, leaving no grounds to overturn the death sentence.