City Affairs

Nairobi matatu conductor charged in violent robbery over Sh200 parking fee

Innocent Gasire at the Makadara Law Courts in Nairobi on May 13, 2024. (Photo: Joseph Ndunda)

By Joseph Ndunda | Monday, May 13, 2024

Innocent Gasire is accused of robbing Samuel Njoroge of Sh65,000 on February 14, 2024, an offence that is only punishable by a death sentence upon conviction.

A man suspected to be a member of a 15-man gang that allegedly robbed a conductor of Sh65,000 after he declined to pay a Sh200 parking fee at the Machakos Country Bus station in Nairobi has been charged with violent robbery.

Innocent Gasire, also a tout, is charged with acting contrary to Section 295 as read with Section 296 (2) of the Penal Code. He is accused of robbing Samuel Njoroge of the money on February 14, 2024, an offence that is only punishable by a death sentence upon conviction.

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Gasire is accused of using actual violence on the complainant, who was assaulted and injured during the robbery that lasted more than 10 minutes.

Njoroge was accosted by 15 men, two of them armed with machetes, who demanded Sh200 from him for parking at the bus terminus used by public service vehicles (PSVs) from outside Nairobi.

The terminus is owned and operated by the Nairobi City County Government, but the suspected gang members forcefully extort money from PSV operators.

The suspect was also charged with malicious damage to property in contravention of Section 339 (1) of the Penal Code.

He allegedly committed the offences with others, including 13 who have been arraigned at the Makadara Law Courts in Nairobi on similar charges, which they have all denied.

Gasire is accused of willfully and unlawfully damaging the windscreen and window glasses of a bus, registration KCZ 210W, belonging to the Climax Bus Service. The damaged parts have been valued at Sh209,500.

Njoroge, the driver, and their passengers had arrived from Kakamega County at around 7 pm when the incident occurred.

The driver left shortly before Njoroge was roughed up and injured by the men who ransacked his pockets and stole the money. Members of the public and his colleagues intervened and grabbed a machete from one of the armed men, but the attackers dragged him onto the bus and demanded his mobile phone.

They later smashed all of the bus's windows as passengers scampered for safety.

The incident was reported at the Muoroto Police Post, where Njoroge told officers that he could identify some of the suspects.

The police traced, arrested, and charged 13 suspects before finding Gasire, who denied the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Agnes Mwangi and was released on a bond of Sh400,000.

The prosecution counsel, Remmy Mwandawiro, urged the court to set May 27 as the date for the case to be mentioned so that the cases are consolidated and the suspects jointly tried.

Some of Njoroge's colleagues and members of the public who intervened to rescue him are listed as witnesses in the case alongside police officers.

Most of the suspects are still in custody after failing to meet the bond terms set by the court.