Students Arraigned in Siaya Court for Robbery with Violence

Eight of the fifteen youth arrested in a joint swoop of the police and local administration were on Tuesday September 19, 2023 arraigned in a Siaya court.
After the charges were read through an interpreter the youth aged between 15 and 21 were granted a bond of KES 300,000 each or be remanded in custody.
“This is a very serious offence,” the Magistrate said through the interpreter, adding “We shall therefore treat it with the gravity it deserves.”
The charge sheet alleges that on July 23, 2023 the youth in the company of others not present in court violently robbed a Mr. Eric Omondi Ouma of a smartphone. The offence was contrary to Section 295 of the Penal Code as read with Section 296(2). The charge sheet did not indicate that the offence was committed during a raucous live band session hosted at the home of the plaintiff. Neither did it mention other circumstances surrounding the alleged offence.
Fifteen youth were rounded up by the local administration accompanied by police officers from Ruambwa Police Post at dawn on Sunday. The youth who were picked up from their homes in Usonga, Sirinde and Hawinga villages are mostly secondary school students with two being candidates in the forthcoming Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE). Some were identified as belonging to the local Sirinde Mixed and Dirk Allison Secondary Schools.
The raid was led by the Usonga Chief Mr. Paul Kanoti with the assistance of his West Alego counterpart Simon Olwendo.
During the pleadings in court one of the guardians of the suspects was heard marvelling at the inordinately high bond set for the offenders.