The young man had been arrested over the weekend for allegedly shoplifting a bottle of whiskey worth Sh1,800. /AIA rare display of compassion unfolded in a Thika courtroom on Wednesday when Chief Magistrate Stella Atambo spared a 23-year-old student from a criminal record on shoplifting charges.
The young man had been arrested over the weekend for allegedly shoplifting a bottle of whiskey worth Sh1,800.
When he appeared before the magistrate on Wednesday, the court witnessed an unusual scene: instead of taking a plea, Magistrate Atambo engaged him with empathy and practical advice, urging him to compensate the retailer rather than face a criminal conviction.
“You're smiling because you know the problem, right?” the magistrate asked as he walked into the dock.
She inquired about the value of the bottle, and when he said Sh1,000, she corrected him: “Wameandika Sh1,800. Unajua ikifika kwa charge sheet inakuwa more expensive. Si uwalipe tu, tuachane na story nyingi, ju hii itakuwa record of previous conviction. At 23, you are still very young.”
The student admitted he would have preferred to pay for the bottle rather than risk imprisonment, but said he had no means because he was jobless.
When asked if someone could assist with cash bail, he said a cousin was on the way. The magistrate emphasised that she did not want to convict him over what she called a minor lapse.
"I don't want you to take plea and convict you because of a bottle of whiskey," she said.
She then made an appeal to the advocates present in the courtroom. “Here's your fellow boychild. What can you do for him?” she asked, highlighting that the young man likely only wanted a brief respite and did not intend to commit a serious crime.
The lawyers agreed to pool resources to cover the Sh1,800 as they waited for the cousin to arrive, ensuring the young man could settle the debt directly with the supermarket.
Magistrate Atambo used the moment to advise him to learn from the gesture of goodwill.
“You see now, these are your older brothers. They know what it means when you just steal whiskey to unwind. They should do something for you, because if I convict you, it will taint your record,” she told him.
The magistrate then instructed the student to contact his cousin and expressed confidence that the well-to-do advocates would help resolve the matter.
The rare act of leniency highlights the human side of the justice system, serving as a reminder to the public that compassion and practical alternative dispute resolution can sometimes be more constructive than punishment.
For the student, it was an opportunity to correct his mistake without the lifelong burden of a criminal record—a second chance he is unlikely to forget.
