Woman accused of being Nairobis dangerous gangster arraigned in court

A woman accused of being the leader of a gang that steals from homes and posh estates in Nairobi was on Wednesday arraigned in court and is facing five different cases of burglary.

Lavender Akinyi Ogilo was described by police as dangerous and the mastermind of a gang believed to only steal from posh estates in Kenya and Tanzania.

This emerged when she was presented at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi where she was charged in four different cases of burglary comprising different counts.

The prosecution said that there are more than 12 other case files at various police stations in Nairobi which will be presented before court in due course.

She is charged alongside three Tanzanian nationals; Shimton Ambasa Khan, sisters Teresa Richard and Rose Richard who also faced a charge of being in Kenya illegally.

In the first phase of files presented before the court, the suspects are linked to a series of robberies in Kileleshwa, Kilimani and Upper Hill areas in Nairobi.

In an affidavit filed by Officer James Wanjohi attached to DCI Dagoretti, the suspects were captured on CCTV footage from surveillance cameras installed at different scenes of crime.

Mr. Wanjohi said the suspects had been on the police radar for more than three years, adding that they fly out of the country immediately they commit an offence.

It is alleged that upon their arrest, many items were recovered and are believed to have been stolen from various people.

The accused persons are said to steal utems including laptops, cash, phones, TV sets and jewelries.

It is believed that the gang uses hired cars to commit crimes especially during weekends and public holidays.

The accused persons however denied the charges against them before Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi.

Lavender was released on a cash bail of Ksh.1.2 million with an alternative bond of Ksh.2.1 million to cover for all the counts she faced in the five files.

Khan was directed to deposit a cash bail of Ksh.500,000 with alternative bond of Ksh.1 million while the Richards were ordered to pay a cash bail of Ksh.100,000 with alternative bond of Ksh.200,000 each.

The case will be mentioned on April 23, 2018.