This archive report was first published on 17 September 2019.
On September 5, 2019, journalist Kelvin Mokaya lost his wallet while shopping at Thika Road Mall in Nairobi. He reported the incident at the Kasarani Police Station and went home.
Days later, Mokaya saw social media posts claiming a man by his name had been arrested for trying to steal a car at the mall. He returned to Nairobi and visited the Kasarani Police Station over the matter.
Meanwhile, a man named Evans Soita was arraigned in Makadara and denied charges of attempted theft. It emerged that Soita had used Mokaya's ID to record a statement with the police after his arrest.
The court ordered Soita to post cash bail of Sh20,000 to secure his release. However, he failed to meet the bail terms.
Speaking on Monday, Kasarani Police Boss Peter Kimani said they will prefer more charges against Soita. The police had established that he was using someone else's identity.
Soita had attempted to steal a car at TRM together with another person and was about to flee when they were stopped by police. The two suspects had a bunch of assorted car keys and alarms.
Mokaya said he is yet to get back his wallet containing his identification card and other documents. "I have been following up the matter. The man is still in custody," he said.
