The Court of Appeal has upheld the death sentence handed to three men who stole 30 pineapples from the Thika-based Delmonte farm.
Julius Mugambi, Edward Mburu and Francis Maina lost their case after the court found they were positively identified as part of a gang of seven intruders.
They are now on death row even though they never got away with the fruits worth Sh1,500. They were forced to abandon the loot when they were chased by a guard dog.
Evidence by the dog handler was crucial in securing the conviction, judges said.
No one was hurt in the robbery except a dog, which bore a deep cut from a machete.
The three were charged with threatening security guards using machetes before stealing the pineapples. They were also charged with unlawfully injuring an animal.
They were first arraigned in the magistrate’s court in Thika on November 1, 2008, where they were tried and sentenced to death.
They filed an appeal at the High Court, arguing there was a mistake in the identification of intruders at the farm on the day.
In opposition, the State submitted that the dog was able to sniff or sense that they were the intruders on the farm that day as the animal was trained.
Identification parade
The court heard there were no other farms and no members of the public nearby, meaning there was no need for an identification parade as there was no doubt over the identity and involvement of the persons involved in the offence.
David Kamau, a dog handler, testified that he released the trained animal when the intruders defied his orders to stop. The dog led him to where they were hiding in the bushes, within the farm, and brought the three out, one by one.
He also confirmed that each had a dog bite. Mr Kamau testified that Mr Mugambi had a sword while Mr Mburu carried a machete.
www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001255612/three-men-to-hang-for-stealing-pineapples
Investments should be protected, at all cost. Let’s hang our corrupt to, not this thing of hanging peasants.