A carwash attendant who stole Sh1 million from his client in Nairobi’s Komarock area will serve a two-year jail term if he fails to pay a fine of Sh200,000.
Gabriel Wandere, 25, was sentenced by Senior Principal Magistrate Gerald Mutiso of the Makadara Law Courts after pleading guilty to theft charges.
He admitted that he stole the money from businessman Dennis Kabaika on August 15, 2023 contrary to section 268 (1) of the Penal Code.
Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) also recovered two new jackets and a new pair of new shoes suspected to have been bought with the cash stolen from Mr Kabaika.
Mr Wandere stole the cash after Mr Kabaika left him washing his car at K-Mall and deserted employment immediately. Wandere then placed pieces of Cabro inside the envelope after stealing the money.
Mr Kabaika, who had instructed Wandere to only wash the car’s exterior, could not tell that the envelope had been emptied of cash until he opened to make some payments after fueling at a fuel station along Kangundo Road before heading to Eldoret town where he was to pay his workers.
He returned to the carwash where he found Mr Wandere had already gone into hiding. He informed the management.
The complainant reported the matter at Kayole Police Station and detectives traced Mr Wandere to his rural home in Namuchila village. Before being arrested Wandere had switched off his phone.
During interrogations, Mr Wandere told the police that he did not count the money after stealing it but immediately left the carwash.
He also admitted that he switched off his phone after the complainant called him and asked him to return the cash.
