Court fines man Sh2m just a day after confession in church

For Abraham Nduba, the writing was on the wall.

After five years on the run, he knew the end was near when 13 of his accomplices were arrested, arraigned and convicted.

Wanted for being a member of the dreaded Jeshi ya Gaica gang in Murang’a County, he ‘sensed danger’ after his “boss” John Ngugi was arrested last week.

Then on Sunday, he surrendered his life to Jesus Christ at the Anglican Church in Maragua, where he pledged to discard his wayward ways. Deep inside, he hoped the God of Abraham would protect Abraham from the laws of the land.

Unbeknown to him, he was being trailed by a special police unit led by chief inspector Cleophas Juma. Nduba had cheated arrest two weeks earlier when he had intended to take his two-month-old baby to be baptised at the same church.

“He got wind of our mission and stayed away, opting to send his wife with the baby,” Mr Juma told the Nation.

Confession

But when the day finally came, Nduba marched to the church gallantly, ready to cast his burdens on Jesus and be a ‘free man’. As he confessed his sins, police patiently waited for him to conclude his testimony.

Mr Nduba spoke about his adventures in narcotics, illicit brew, pickpocketing and robbery in Maica-Ma-Thi village and Maragua town for five years.

“It started in 2016 when my brother and cousins formed a group and entered the chang’aa business. We also identified some villages and estates as our territories. In the process, there are people who got assaulted and lost valuables. But I am now a reformed person who wants to live as a born-again, free man,” he said.

“I have saved some money that I will use to start a family business and I promise that I will become an ambassador of the rule of law. I will reach out to all of my gang members and preach to them about the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Pastor Peter Kariuki was asked to drive Mr Nduba to Maragua Police Station to commit himself to partner with officers in combating crime.

Camouflaged officers 

“All along I had my men in the church camouflaged as worshipers. The pastor, Nduba, his wife and their children later left for the station. We intercepted their vehicle at the Maragua main market and ordered him to surrender,” Murang’a South police boss Anthony Keter told the Nation.

The church and the government are inseparable but their understanding and practices about justice are different, he added.

“While it was a good thing for Nduba to make peace with his God in supplication, it was an individual search for forgiveness. People have been complaining about his criminal exploits and we cannot refer them to his repentance for justice.”

Pastor Kariuki felt Nduba’s dramatic arrest was unnecessary. “The officers pointed guns at me and ordered me to stop the car. I felt scared and told them I was only acting as the liaison servant of God between Nduba and his maker. I had nothing to do with his past,” he said.

He was, however, allowed to pray for him. “I only begged God to have mercy on him. I prayed for his young wife and their baby and asked God to be the solution to the general challenges facing them as a family. The officers thanked me, handcuffed him and carted him away,” said Pastor Kariuki.

Pleaded guilty 

On Monday, Mr Nduba was charged with three counts before Kigumo Senior Principal Magistrate Sivai Agade – belonging to a proscribed organisation, distilling, packaging and transporting illicit brew and owning an illegal distillery.

Perhaps in his newfound belief that his repentance had its grace over him, he pleaded guilty.

“I hereby, on own admission of guilt, sentence you to a fine of Sh2 million or serve a jail term of five years in default,” ruled Ms Agade as prosecutors smiled from ear to ear after yet another good day in court.

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