Suspected Nairobi serial robber charged with four counts of robbery with violence

A suspected serial robber believed to have been robbing pedestrians along the Railway line in Makongeni estate in Nairobi while armed with a gun has been charged with four counts of robbery with violence.

Gregory Wasike Simiyu was charged at the Makadara Law Courts with robbing four people including some at gunpoint on diverse dates between May and September this year.

Prosecution counsel Mwanaidi Rama asked Principal Magistrate Irene Mugo to order for a social inquiry report for Simiyu before releasing him on bond and bail.

The suspect was charged with robbing LOM of a mobile phone worth Sh11,500 on September 10, jointly with another while armed with a gun and a knife.

The prosecution says Simiyu and his accomplice at large threatened to use actual violence on the female victim during the alleged robbery.

Rama requested this writer not to disclose the identities of the victims.

Simiyu was also charged with robbing pedestrian JOO of his mobile phone worth Sh11,000 on the same date.

Okoth was robbed by two men armed with a gun and a knife within the Makongeni estate in Makadara sub-county.

Simiyu is facing charges in contravention of section 296 (2) of the Penal Code and is accused of threatening to use actual violence on all the victims.

He is suspected of carrying out 10 robberies reported at the Makongeni police station between January and September and some of the cases were ongoing in court before the suspect was arrested for the latest four robberies.

Simiyu was arrested by an undercover police officer on patrol in the area looking for the suspects behind the robberies on September 11 but his accomplice escaped.

He was allegedly found with two mobile phones belonging to LOM and JOO and was escorted to the police station where the complainants were summoned the next day and confirmed that the devices allegedly recovered from Simiyu belonged to them.

More other cases of robberies where Simiyu is a suspect are under investigation and he is likely to be charged after the victims turn up at the station to confirm they were robbed by the suspect. The suspect denied the charges contained in four different police files.

Mugo remanded the suspect in custody to await the social inquiry report to be tabled in court on October 23 to determine if the suspect will be released on bond pending trial.

The hearing of the case is set to start on February 2, 2025.