By Andrew Kariuki
The Milimani Magistrates Court has made a significant adjustment in the Ksh9 million Diamond Plaza iPhone theft case after one of the five men initially charged was formally discharged, with the prosecution confirming he was wrongly linked to the offence.
The suspects; Kenneth Njuguna, Denke Abdifatar, Elik Montare and Eugine Oricho Leo, Steven Okwaro Bari were first arraigned earlier this week and charged with breaking into Dreams Collection Limited, an electronics shop at Diamond Plaza, on September 16, 2025.
According to the charge sheet, they allegedly stole assorted high-end iPhones including; 5 iPhone SE, 3 iPhone 16 and 4 iPhone 16E, alongside USD 24,000, all valued at approximately Ksh9 million, belonging to business owner Imran Mohammed.
The first accused, Stephen Okwaro Bari, faced a separate count of handling stolen goods, after he was found in possession of an iPhone 16E in Ruaka on November 21, allegedly knowing or having reason to believe it was stolen.
All the accused had pleaded not guilty.
When the matter returned to court today, officers handling the case informed the court that pre-bail reports for accused persons 1, 2 and 5 were still incomplete and requested an additional day.
The court agreed to defer the matter to tomorrow.
Advocate Makenzi, appearing for Eugine Oricho Leo, the fifth accused, told the court that investigators had completed verification of receipts recovered from his client.
The prosecution confirmed the review and stated that the findings did not link the fifth accused to the break-in or theft.
They indicated they would not pursue charges against him and would apply for a withdrawal under Section 87 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Defence did not oppose the withdrawal.
However, the court opted to discharge the fifth accused under Section 202, noting it was the more appropriate provision to prevent future complications, including visa applications.
The fifth accused stated for the record that he is 29 years old.
The prosecution also informed the court that an amended charge sheet had not yet been filed and requested time to present it.
The court directed that the remaining accused persons return tomorrow for plea-taking once the amended charge sheet and the outstanding pre-bail reports are filed.
Bond terms will also be issued at that time.
