23-year-old man in court for drugging, stealing Sh300k from reveller on Mirema Drive

A 23-year-old man who allegedly received part of Sh313,000 transferred from a businessman's bank and M-Pesa accounts after being drugged on Mirema Drive in Kasarani, Nairobi, has been charged with stupefying contrary to Section 230 of the Penal Code.

Roy Kiplangat, a student at a private university, was arrested in Ruiru, Kiambu County.

The suspect is accused of injecting Wanjama with an unknown drug on July 3 this year with the intention of stealing from him and eventually robbing him of Sh8,000 in cash and a mobile phone valued at Sh28,000.

Kiplangat is also accused of stealing Sh313,000 that was transferred from Wanjama's bank and M-Pesa accounts after he was drugged.

The suspect faces three other charges including conspiracy to commit an offence, theft and preparation to commit an offence.

He is accused of conspiring with others at large to steal from Wanjama. Kiplangat's accomplices are at large including a woman whom Wanjama met at a club in Kahawa West.

The suspect is accused of conspiring with his accomplices to steal Wanjama's property.

The charge of preparation to commit an offence stems from the fact that Kiplangat was allegedly found with two Sim cards that were not registered using his national identity card.

Wanjama had gone to a club for drinks and a few minutes after settling down he was joined by a strange woman and they continued drinking. Hours later, he decided to leave and the woman asked him to drop her off along Mirema Drive.

Moments before he dropped her, she asked them to finish the beer she had left in her bottle and the complainant obliged, but a few minutes later he blacked out.

He regained consciousness seven hours later and found himself lying by the roadside with his car, phone and cash missing from the scene. He went to Kasarani Police Station where he reported the incident.

Wanjama went to a hospital for treatment before returning home where he continued to sleep as he was still dizzy.

On July 4, he went to a Safaricom shop to replace his Sim card only to discover that more than Sh300,000 had been transferred through his M-Pesa.

He found that Sh174,000 that was in his M-Pesa account had been transferred and another Sh139,000 had also been transferred from his bank account through the same mobile money transfer platform.

Wanjama reported this to the police and investigations began.

The number that received the money was identified and found to belong to Kiplangat. He was tracked down and arrested. However, his accomplices were not found.

Kiplangat denied the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Hellen Okwani of the Makadara Law Courts and pleaded for lenient bail conditions.

He was remanded in custody until November 22, when the court is expected to set bail and bond conditions after receiving a preliminary report.

The case will be heard on February 29 next year.