A magistrate at a Nakuru law court on Thursday ordered for a mental check-up for a suspect who had been arraigned in the court to answer charges of stealing utensils from his neigbours.
Chief Resident Magistrate Felix Kombo ordered that Benson Gitonga, 27, who had been charged with stealing utensils valued at Sh2,000 from five neigbours at Workers estate within Nakuru town on March 24 this year at around 12 noon, while pretending to be collecting waste material, be subjected to a mental check- up to establish his sanity level before the hearing of the case.
The prosecution desk had told the court that on that material day and time, the accused had ventured into residential quarters in the said estate while carrying a sack with waste plastic materials, but instead had picked up several utensils material belonging to the complainants that were outside their houses while pretending to be collecting waste material.
According to the prosecution, the accused, who was wearing shabbily to give an impression of being mentally unstable or a street boy, was actually committing criminal activities around the estate.
The magistrate was told that upon realizing their kitchen materials that included two metal stoves, plastic plates, cups, spoons and jags were missing, the complainants had raised an alarm and attracted other residents of the estate who arrested the accused and handed him over to teachers’ police post.