A 47-year-old man has admitted to stealing 15 kilograms of rice to feed his family which he claimed had gone for days without food.
Paul Chikombe informed Mombasa chief magistrate Martha Mutuku that he stole the rice at the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) in Mombasa to save his family from starvation.
“It’s true, I was there (KPA) as casual labour. However, I was not even paid for the day’s work and as we were headed home I decided to steal some rice since I had neither eaten nor left anything for my family back at home. I seek for forgiveness from the court,” he pleaded.
Repeat offender
However, his admission did not go well with the prosecution who, through state prosecutor Alex Gituma, informed the court that Chikombe was a repeat offender and on July 26 he was arrested for stealing 20 kilograms of sugar.
Chikombe had been charged that on August 20 this year at KPA within Mombasa County was found by a port police officer carrying 15 kilograms of Biyan rice valued at Kshs 1200 wrapped in white nylon.
The suspect was found guilty and will be sentenced on September 8, 2022.
