Think twice as you buy that phone, you could land in jail

Hundreds of Kenyans are languishing in detention, trapped in criminal matters they knew nothing about other than being found in possession of stolen property.

Recently, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) warned Kenyans against buying phones, laptops and other electronic devices from the black market, saying that could land them in prison.
This is because it is possible to buy a phone that was stolen from a shop or a victim of robbery with violence. It could result in a murder trial, DCI said.

“The public is hereby warned never to buy any electronic gadget from an individual who has no fixed physical address. Always insist on a receipt that clearly itemises the particulars of the gadget. It is risky to buy any device from suspicious outlets,” the DCI said. 

“Many are items belonging to victims of robberies. Do not buy such a device. You may have suffered immensely by the time it is established that you were not involved in the crime.”

Due to our “peculiar” nature, Kenyans often go for quick deals in a bid to save some coins.
Unbeknown to many, once caught with stolen property, one suffers the consequences of the actual criminal. It could even lead to the death sentence.

On March 5, police officers in Kisii county arrested a high school student and a tout identified as Justus Nyamete Manyura in connection with the killing of Ms Caroline Wanjiku, a businesswoman.

The two were in possession of cell phones that detectives had been tracing as they had previously been paired to the trader’s SIM cards through online communication and transactions.

“Detectives want to establish how the two got the handsets. They remain in our custody assisting with investigations,” the DCI tweeted.

Wanjiku was abducted by unknown people in Ngara, Nairobi county. Her body was found in Kajiado county days later. 

It has not been established if the tout and the student will be charged with murder alongside five other people arrested earlier.

Robbery with violence

In another case, Mr Duncan Kimeu Muthoka and Mr Ian Kariuki face robbery with violence charges at a Makadara law court after they were found with a mobile phone that was reportedly stolen from a man in Kayole estate. 

Mr Peter Mihunyo was found dead in his house on December 26, 2019. His phone was missing.
Mr Mihunyo’s widow, Emily Wangechi, told police that she had travelled to Nakuru on December 19 and did not talk to her husband until December 25, when she returned to Nairobi to check on him.

Mr Muthoka, who was found with Mihunyo’s phone, told police that Mr Kariuki introduced him to the phone seller, who has not been arrested yet.

Unfortunately, Mr Kariuki did not have the contacts, physical address or any other details of the hawker.

The two men have been charged with robbing Mr Mihunyo and causing his death.

Their case is slightly different from that of Mr Edward Kamau Muchiri and Mr Stephen Muange Mutemi, two masons who bought a mobile phone from an unidentified woman involved in the theft of a vehicle.

Fortunately for the two men, the victim was not harmed. Still, Mr Muchiri and Mr Mutemi were arraigned for motor vehicle theft.

According to the prosecution, the pair jointly with others still at large stole an Isuzu DMax pick-up truck valued at Sh3 million from Ms Evelyn Mbithe Kisalu on January 3, 2020.

It began when the driver, identified as Gabriel Mutie, got a call from a “client” who wanted to move household goods.

Mr Mutie set up a meeting with the client, who offered to buy him a meal in Ruai, on the outskirts of Nairobi. 

Reported missing

The driver woke up the following morning at a hotel – naked.

The woman who took the vehicle is said to have sold her phone to Mr Muchiri at Sh2,500, which he considered “a throwaway price”.

On October 11, 2019, he sold the handset to Mr Mutemi. The two house builders are now paying the price for what they thought was a great deal.

A Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) cleaner who found a mobile phone in a dustbin was briefly held by police in October last year when the owner – Eliud Wabwile – was reported missing.

His body was later found at a mortuary.

“Luckily” for Mr Enock Omeda, Mr Wabwile was a victim of a hit-and-run incident on Ngong Road. He had been rushed to KNH where he died.

A DCI cybercrime expert dispelled the myth that cheap feature phones – popularly known as “Mulika Mwizi” – cannot be traced after a robbery.

He said any gadget that can send and receive signals from a service provider can be easily traced.

As long as the phone has a subscriber identification module (SIM) card slot and an international mobile equipment identification (IMEI) number and has power, it can be traced.

Flashing stolen phones, also known as hard or master resetting, does not change anything that would prevent its recovery. Flashing is simply deleting data belonging to the previous user, the DCI expert said. 

Original charge

“Flashing is like replacing an operating system with another. Everything else on the phone remains intact. Some will generate an IMEI number using software to dupe the buyer but the original number remains,” the expert added. 

However, he said, one cannot be charged with an offence not committed just because he was found with a stolen phone “if there is no factual evidence”.

But DCI Investigations Bureau (IB) Director John Kariuki said one may be taken to court “if the perpetrators of the crime are not found”.

While the expert said there must be evidence linking the person to the crime, beyond possession of the victim’s phone, Mr Kariuki insisted that those found with the gadgets bear the criminal culpability “in circumstances where they are unable to show the people who committed the offences”.

Officers at Central and Kamukunji police stations in Nairobi always take technicians found with stolen phones to court. 

The technicians on many occasions face the alternative charge of handling stolen property.
Mr Kariuki urges Kenyans to be contented with what they can afford and only buy electronic items from recognised dealers.

“You can buy a phone anywhere. The danger is buying it at a throwaway price when it was taken from a person who was violently robbed or even killed,” he said.

“Since you cannot identify the person you bought it from, you face the original charge of robbery with violence or murder. And that is simply because you wanted an expensive phone.”

Mr George Njoroge, an IT expert at East African Data Handlers, said charging unsuspecting buyers with such offences because perpetrators cannot be traced “amounts to malice”.

Mr Njoroge said there has never been a precedent-setting case where suspect were acquitted for failure to link them to the crime. That means there is no case in law to guide judicial officers.

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