A man who had made the lives of lorry drivers difficult for years was sentenced to jail for life by the Loitoktok court in Kajiado county.
Simon Muia Katuu was the mastermind of a gang that abducted lorry drivers before beating them senseless and driving off with their lorries to unknown destinations.
“In yet another investigative piece meticulously put together by our detectives, Simon Katuu was found guilty of robbery with violence contrary to section 296 (2) of the penal code and sent to where he belongs for life,” read a statement by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
Loitoktok, principal magistrate magistrate Judicaster Thuku said that the court was convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the accused committed the offenses.
In one of the incidents, Katuu struck a deal with a lorry driver at Taj Mall in Embakasi, Nairobi on March 29, 2020 and hired him to ferry maize from Loitoktok to Marikiti market in Nairobi.
Upon reaching the agreed place, he was led to the farm where the alleged maize was by the accused but as soon as he stopped the lorry, other men joined them and turned on him with blows and kicks beating him senseless as they demanded to be shown the vehicle’s cut-out switch.
After the driver declined to reveal the switch, the thugs took off with his two mobile phones and the vehicle’s ignition keys, leaving him with life threatening injuries. Following the incident, the victim managed to file a report at the Loitoktok police station.
Another incident occurred on April 5, 2021, the accused again posing as a maize trader approached another lorry driver in Kasarani. Using the same trick, he hired the lorry to Loitoktok to allegedly deliver dry maize in Nairobi.
As the driver was headed to get the load, the accused kept calling him, making him become suspicious. He however made it to Loitoktok at 6 pm and found the accused sound asleep. He immediately took his photos using his phone.
The driver’s fears were confirmed moments later when the accused woke up and led him to a route that took them to a secluded area along the Kenya – Tanzania border. The suspect and other thugs who emerged from nearby bushes, gave the driver a dog’s beating before driving off with the lorry, leaving the badly shaken man to his own devices.
He however managed to report the attack to DCI officers in Loitoktok and together with Tanzanian authorities, they recovered the lorry the following day stuck in the mud, kilometers away from the scene of the attack.
In his last unlucky attempt, the accused using his usual trick approached a lorry driver in Taveta town, to deliver maize in Kitui county. However, on reaching Loitoktok where the maize was to be loaded to the lorry, a mixture of fear and intuition led the suspicious driver to Entarra police post. But before he could stop the beast, the accused quickly opened the door and leapt off to nearby thickets.
A manhunt for him was launched and he was finally arrested at Emali. All the drivers who had been attacked positively identified him and he was arraigned in court on April 23, 2021.
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