A Kilifi court sentenced Otieno to 40 years for robbery with violence and police impersonation.
A Kilifi court rejected Otieno’s burial alibi after victims identified him in robberies involving valuables worth about Sh4 million.
A Kilifi court has sentenced a man to 40 years in prison for coastal robberies and impersonating a police officer. The case involved valuables worth approximately Sh4 million stolen from homes in Malindi and Kilifi.
Principal Magistrate Ivy D. Wasike convicted Otieno on four counts of robbery with violence and a separate impersonation charge. The prosecution presented nine witnesses linking him to the offences, which occurred between November 2024 and March 2025.
Otieno received 30 years for each robbery count, with those sentences running concurrently. However, an additional 10-year term for impersonation brought his total prison sentence to 40 years. He has 14 days to appeal.
Court rejects alibi in coastal robberies case
Otieno argued that he was in Migori attending his grandmother’s burial when the robberies occurred. He also disputed his identification, but Wasike found that several victims had positively identified him during identification parades.
The magistrate rejected the alibi because Otieno produced no bus ticket or other supporting evidence. He also called no witness to support his claim that he was away in Migori.
The court heard allegations that Otieno and an accomplice posed as police officers to enter residential homes. Once inside, they held occupants at gunpoint and stole valuables.
Meanwhile, evidence on his arrest showed that police laid an ambush following reports of a robbery in Malindi. Officers arrested him after an exchange of gunfire along a busy highway on March 26, 2025. The court also found that he had failed to challenge the circumstances surrounding that arrest successfully.
