Two men were on Friday sentenced to serve two years by a Kisumu Chief Magistrate court after being found guilty of stealing a car engine. The two Stephen Makena and Pius Oluoch are said to have committed the offence on the 20th of February last year while working as mechanics at a local garage in Kisumu.
The court heard that a client brought in his car for some service, and the two were assigned to service the car when they committed the offence. Oluoch and Makena are said to have replaced the engine with an old one before selling it. Upon finding out the replacement of the engine, the owner of the vehicle Morris Okumu reported the matter to the police who investigated the matter and discovered that the engine was sold to another client at the same garage.
The two are said have gone into hiding after learning that police were after them, they were later arrested while trying to leave Kisumu for Migori. While reading the sentence, Kisumu chief magistrate Thomas Obutu condemned the act. “People should have respect for their clients properties and needs, why should you steal something entrusted to you?”, paused Obutu. In their defence, Makena told the court that they were trying to see if the engine could work in another car. The two were given fourteen days to appeal the decision.