A 20-year-old Juja domestic worker who was caught alongside two males in a high-profile bust outside the Kasarani police station in Nairobi is currently on trial for attempted robbery.

After taxi driver Peter Gathesa drove into the station in difficulty, Joy Mumbi was taken into custody by police at the station entrance. Alongside her were her co-accused, 22-year-old Kelvin Murithi, and 25-year-old Julius Mbithi Njeru.

They are both accused of trying to rob someone violently, which is a criminal offense that carries a death sentence.

The three are charged with attempting to rob Gathesa on November 19 near the Thika Superhighway in Nairobi of his vehicle, a Toyota Ractis valued at Sh1 million.

They are charged with abusing the plaintiff violently during the  incident, reportedly strangling him while he was driving.

Julius Njeru, Kelvin Murithi and Joy Mumbi in the dock at the Makadara Law Courts. PHOTO|JOSEPH NDUNDA

After Murithi posted a trip request online using a digital taxi hailing app and stated he would be dropped off at Statehouse Road in Nairobi, Gathesa had picked up the three accused in Juja, Kiambu County.

Along the Thika Superhighway, Mumbi sat in the passenger seat and Murithi and Njeru followed the driver.

Murithi allegedly told Gathesa to stop and get out of the car while pointing out what seemed to be a toy gun along the route.

Contrary to the directive, Gathesa sprinted to the Kasarani Police Station, where he was saved by officers who then took the three suspects into custody.

The other two were apprehended as they attempted to flee, while Mumbi was detained inside the vehicle.

Despite Ms. Mumbi’s admission to police that she is employed as a domestic helper at a home on Kenyatta Road in Juja, the three suspects’ relationship could not be established.

Murithi resides in an estate off of Jogoo Road in Nairobi with his parents.

They all refuted the allegations, in front of Makadara Law Courts Senior Principal Magistrate Gerald Mutiso.

Without the option of posting cash bail, they were freed on a Sh500,000 bond with a matching surety.

The matter will be heard on February 12.

When Ms Hannah Njoki took the stand to testify against her son-in-law, ex-Mungiki leader Maina Njenga, who is accused of involvement with an outlawed gang, little did she know she would collapse in court.

The old woman took the stand right away once the prosecution called her to the witness box.

However, she started to tremble and gasp for breath as the Bible was being delivered to her.

She merely said in Kikuyu that she wasn’t feeling well when asked what was wrong.

“My heart is beating fast, my heart is beating fast,” she said. Before the court could comprehend, she had collapsed.

Principal Magistrate Kipkurui Kibelion was compelled to postpone the case for fifteen minutes in order to provide assistance to the woman amidst the disturbance.

She was escorted past a stunned assembly as she exited the magistrate’s chambers.

The woman did, however, regain consciousness after receiving first aid from court assistants, according to The Nation.

The woman told the cops that she hadn’t eaten anything that day and hadn’t taken her medication for her health issue.

“After giving her first aid, we also gave her food and she got better,” the officer said.

The woman was well, according to state attorney Wycliff Omwenga, who claimed the woman was a crucial witness in the case.

Mr. Omwenga observed that she was panting due to the throng of people in the courtroom and the anxiety she had after mounting the stand.

The witness would provide testimony at a later time, he said.

“She regained consciousness immediately she was given first aid and has been fine since. We will have her back to testify but that will be on another date,” Mr Omwenga said.

Following his release in 2022 from a 50-year sentence, a 68-year-old American serial paedophile was arraigned in Mavoko on Tuesday and faces three more accusations of defilement.

Terry Ray Krieger was brought before the court under close police protection. He has been detained by the police since November 10, 2023.

As Mavoko Senior Principal Magistrate Barbra Ojoo read out the accusations against the convicted paedophile, she maintained her composure.

Krieger said to the magistrate that he had no idea why his attorney was not present in court.

“The defendant has a criminal record in America. The current charges carry a sentence of five years imprisonment. I have not been presented with any evidence that the suspect requires special treatment. I decline to grant bail at this time. The mention will be on November 27, 2023 in preparation for a full hearing,” the judge ruled.

The magistrate described him as a flight risk and a fugitive in Kenya, and she denied him bail.

Terry Ray Krieger was given an order by retiring judge Momanyi Bwonwong’a in March 2022 to be released from prison in November 2022.

Krieger, who was incarcerated for recording and sharing images of children in suggestive and nude poses, had argued that the punishment was excessively severe and punishing. On December 2, 2014, former Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Joseph Karanja gave him the sentence.