A man who tricked his way into family homes in Kilifi has been jailed for 40 years. Principal Magistrate Ivy Wasike of the Kilifi Law Courts handed down the sentence. The convict had pretended to be a police officer during a series of armed robberies.
The court found him guilty of four counts of robbery with violence. It also convicted him of impersonating a police officer. He received 30 years on each robbery count. Those terms will run at the same time. He was given an extra 10 years for the impersonation charge, to be served after the others. That brings his total sentence to 40 years.
He has 14 days to appeal against the conviction and sentence. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said he and an accomplice carried out the robberies. The attacks took place in Malindi and Kilifi towns between November 15, 2024, and March 26, 2025. The accomplice was still at large during the trial.
The pair knocked on residential doors and claimed they were conducting police operations. Once inside, they overpowered residents and held them at gunpoint. They then ransacked the homes. Their loot included mobile phones, laptops, televisions, gold chains, rings, and PlayStations. The total value was estimated at Sh4 million.
Nine prosecution witnesses testified about the attacks. Some raids took place in broad daylight, at 10 a.m., noon, and 1 p.m. One victim said the convict pointed a gun at her daughter. Another said he was shoved around and threatened with death unless he cooperated.
Several victims picked the convict out at identification parades. The magistrate rejected his claim that he had been wrongly identified. She also dismissed his alibi that he was at his grandmother’s burial in Migori. He had no witness and no bus ticket to support that story.
His claim that he was accidentally shot in the leg at Kilifi Bridge was also rejected. Police had set up an ambush after a robbery was reported in Malindi. That operation led to his arrest.
The accomplice kept robbing people in Likoni after the convict was arrested. He was later traced to Mariakani, where police recovered two pistols. He was shot dead after trying to escape from Likoni police station.
The magistrate described the robberies as particularly heinous. She said the victims were left deeply traumatised. Some were so frightened that they were reluctant to return to court to testify. She also noted that the gunfight during the police ambush put road users and officers at risk.
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