A househelp accused of alleged theft of her employer's money safe and other valuables in Spring Valley has been arrested in Kawangware.
The DCI says the employer had entrusted the lady with caretaker responsibilities after working in the house for 15 months, but she reportedly betrayed the trust and made away with the safe.
The employer reported the theft at Spring Valley police station on March 11, prompting detectives at the station backed by their counterparts from Dagoretti to swing into action and mount a manhunt.
"Through forensic-led intelligence, Akinyi was smoked out of her hideout in Kawangware's bustling Congo Maumau area, bringing the chase to an end," DCI said.
The DCI said the safe contained family passports, foreign national IDs, 4,000 US dollars, gold coins, Diwali statues, a pen drive, a hard disk, bank locker keys, perfumes, and other belongings.
"Upon visiting the crime scene, detectives discovered that the safe previously secured with screws in a wardrobe had been expertly unscrewed and stolen.
The suspect confessed to discarding the ransacked safe in the murky waters of the river Mau Mau.
"With help from local divers, detectives managed to retrieve the safe from the riverbed only to find it emptied of its contents," the DCI said.
A search of her residence turned up a number of the suspected stolen items, including 29 one-hundred-dollar notes, assorted Indian Rupees, perfumes and women’s purses all traced back to her employer.
"The suspect is currently in police custody undergoing processing pending arraignment. Meanwhile, the recovered items are securely preserved as exhibits," the DCI said.
Theft by employee is a criminal offence punishable by law.
Section 281 of the Penal Code Cap 63 of Laws of Kenya provides that: “If the offender is a clerk or servant, and the thing stolen is the property of his employer or came into the possession of the offender on account of his employer, he is liable to imprisonment for seven years."
