A 31-year-old man, Samson Omondi Odhiambo, has been found guilty by a Siaya Law Court for stealing and handling stolen goods.
In his judgement, Resident Magistrate JP Mkala fined Odhiambo Sh50,000, or serve a two-year imprisonment in default.
According to the prosecutor, the incident occurred on 26th September 2023 at around 5PM at Ulafu sub location in East Alego within Siaya County.
The accused was arrested on 28th September 2023 without warrant and later arraigned in court on 29th September 2023.
Following his arrest, Odhiambo was charged with stealing a 32-inch TV, remote controller, power cable and a solar battery all from Mobisol Company.
The accused was formerly an employee of the Mobisol Company working as a technician, but at the time of the incident, he was no longer there as his contract had ended.
His former role at the company allowed him to see which customers had completed their payment and which had defaulted.
It was the same knowledge that he used to gain access to the items pretending to be an official from the company.
The complainant Margaret Nyamao said, “On 25th September 2023, I was tethering my cows when I saw a technician who had assembled a solar system in my home, in the company of others. Since I had defaulted in payment, he checked my balance and said it was sh72,000 and asked me if I could pay Sh15,000 or Sh10, 00.
I shared this with my brother-in-law after they had left and later the next day I saw two boys from the company, who asked me why I was not paying for the TV and I reported that the technician had taken some cash the previous day.
Witness Kevin Ochieng Ogutu who is also an employee of Mobisol Company said that he checked his system and found that Odhiambo was the one who had assembled the stolen goods from the complaint.
Ogutu added that he went to his home and didn’t find him. He also tried calling him but he was unreachable.
Ogutu then headed to Siaya Police Station to report the matter, but later saw the accused on a motorbike carrying a battery.
I immediately called the police and we went to his house where he misled us. Later, we searched his house and there was a TV on the mattress, covered with a duvet and the remote control wrapped in paper, added Ogutu.
By Cameline Odhiambo
