A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a 20-year-old woman who allegedly stole Sh786,000 from her’stingy’ boyfriend who allegedly refused to give her money despite spending time with her for the past three months.
The funds were in US dollars (USD 5,000) and Kenyan shillings (20,000).
Stella Mwikali’s arrest warrant was issued by Makadara Law Courts’ Principal Magistrate Erick Mutunga after she failed to appear in court to answer theft charges.
Mwikali is charged with stealing in violation of Section 268 (2) of the Penal Code, where she is accused of stealing from MD Labu Kazi, a Bangladeshi national she had been dating after he arrived in the country.
She is charged alongside her friend Kalekye Mumo and two men who allegedly assisted them in converting the dollars into Kenyan currency. The other two are Charles Wambua and Moses Kilonzi.
Mumo is charged separately with handling stolen property after she was allegedly found at her Pipeline estate home in Embakasi, Nairobi, with Kazi’s suitcase, which she is accused of keeping dishonestly, knowing or having reason to believe that it was stolen.
She was allegedly found with the suitcase in her house at the time of her arrest on November 27. They were charged with stealing the cash on November 10, a charge they all denied.
Mwikali had been released on police cash bail, which was forfeited after she failed to appear in court to face charges.
She is accused of stealing the money from Kazi, 35, a Bangladeshi national with whom she shared a flat in Ngara, Nairobi.
They met in September after Kazi was introduced to her by an employee at a hotel where he was staying on arrival in Kenya, and they immediately began living together.
However, Mwikali allegedly told police that Kazi did not pay her anything and kept promising to pay her before he left to return to his home country.
The complainant had received the money from his friend, who lives in another country, for his upkeep.
He converted part of the money into Kenyan currency – Sh20,000 – and the rest into US dollars (5,000) on November 9 and kept the cash in his suitcase at the house where he was staying with Mwikali.
Kazi spent the night in the house with Mwikali, but woke up the next day to find her missing. On checking, he discovered that his suitcase, which contained his cash, clothes and travel documents, was missing.
Mwikali had allegedly taken the bag to Mumo’s house immediately after stealing it and they cut open the bag and found the dollars.
They took some of the dollars and sought help from a neighbour who directed them to the two men who would help them exchange them into Kenyan currency.
They gave them $2,600 and received Sh160,000 in exchange.
However, the remaining $2,400 was allegedly stolen by Mumo’s boyfriend, who had a spare key to her house. He has since disappeared and switched off his mobile phone.
The complainant caught up with them but found no money. He reported the matter to the Pangani police station and they were arrested. Their accomplices were also located and arrested.
Mumo and her two accomplices – Wambua and Kilonzi – through their lawyer pleaded for lenient bail and surety conditions on the grounds that they were all unemployed but lived within the jurisdiction of the court and promised to attend the trial.
They were released on Sh200,000 bail and an alternative cash bail of Sh300,000.
The case will continue in January 2024.
