KENYA: KIBERA COURT SENTENCES SERIAL PHONE THIEF TO DEATH

June 11, 2025:

A Kenyan court has handed a death sentence to Isaac Khanga after finding him guilty on two counts of robbery with violence, KBC Digital reported on June 10, 2025. 
Khanga was convicted by Kibera court of snatching mobile phones worth a combined Ksh. 39,000 and cash totaling Ksh. 30,000, having threatened his victims with actual violence.
The offences took place separately on the night of November 3, 2024 in the Kawangware Madiaba area of Dagoretti Sub-County. 
In the first incident, Khanga and his accomplices seized a Tecno handset valued at Ksh. 24,000 alongside Ksh. 30,000 in cash.
In the second, he forcibly took another phone valued at Ksh. 15,000.
Counsel Ann Murage, prosecuting for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), led the case and successfully established Khanga’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. 
Although Khanga acted in concert with others who remain at large, the court focused solely on his individual culpability.
Principal Magistrate Christine Njagi underscored that, under Kenyan law, the death penalty remains constitutional and has not been invalidated by any court. Accordingly, Khanga received two death sentences—one for each count—with one sentence to be held in abeyance.
Khanga was formally charged by the ODPP on November 15, 2024, and the trial concluded within six months—an outcome Magistrate Njagi described as a testament to the judiciary’s commitment to expeditious justice.