Man jailed 40 years for posing as police officer in Sh4m coastal robberies

NAIROBI, Kenya Nov 13 – A Kilifi court has dismissed a man’s defence that he was in Migori attending his grandmother’s burial when a series of violent robberies occurred in Malindi and Kilifi, sentencing him to 40 years in prison.

The accused was convicted of four counts of robbery with violence and impersonating a police officer after the prosecution presented nine witnesses linking him to the offences.

Principal Magistrate Ivy D. Wasike ruled that several victims had positively identified him during identification parades, dismissing his claims of mistaken identity.

The court noted that he had failed to produce a bus ticket, call a witness or provide any other evidence to support his claim that he was away in Migori.

He was also unsuccessful in disputing the circumstances surrounding his arrest on March 26, 2025.

The court heard that police officers had laid an ambush following reports of a robbery in Malindi. During the operation, he was arrested after an exchange of gunfire along a busy highway.

The accused and an accomplice had allegedly posed as police officers to gain entry into residential homes, where they held occupants at gunpoint and stole valuables worth approximately Sh4 million.

The offences were committed between November 2024 and March 2025.

The magistrate sentenced Otieno to 30 years on each of the four robbery counts, with the terms running concurrently, and an additional 10 years for impersonation, bringing his total sentence to 40 years.