Police in Machakos County have detained two suspects as they launch investigations into a phone stealing syndicate that has been targeting patients at the Machakos Level 5 Hospital.
This comes after one of the suspects, Peter Mutavi, was caught on a CCTV camera stealing from a patient at the hospital’s radiology department.
The 28-year-old was arrested at the facility on Wednesday, August 28.
The CCTV footage shows Peter walking into the hospital on that fateful day and after about an hour, he walks out.
An alarm raised by a female patient who was seeking services at the hospital led to the review of the footage which unmasked Mutavi as the man behind the incident.
Speaking to the media, the witness, Magdalene Mueni, said she stepped for a while and when she came back, the phone had already been stolen.
Mueni said she had seen Mutavi at the X-ray and was certain that it was him who had stolen the phone/
“I went there and found out it had already been stolen by a man I saw there. Then they started the investigation, I checked the CCTV, and they showed me—it was the same man I was with at the X-ray. Even another lady we showed at Level 5, her phone was also stolen by the same man,” she said.
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Chief Officer of Health
Machakos County Chief Officer of Health, Simon Mwako said all payments at the facility are made through mobile money.
He explained that the thieves took advantage of this provision to steal phones from patients since everyone seeking services at the hospital must come with their phones.
“All payments made by our patients must be made via mobile phone. So, due to the high necessity of phones, everyone who visits our hospital must have a phone. This is where some criminals have seen an opportunity to enter the hospital and steal from our patients,” he said.
The suspect then led the police to his alleged accomplice, Francis Mumo, who had a phone believed to be stolen property.
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Machakos DCIO
Machakos Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Officer Nzioka Singi asked victims of the phone stealing syndicate to report to Machakos Police Station.
“I urge anyone who was robbed here at the hospital—we have CCTV cameras in place. A good job has been done installing those CCTVs. You can file your complaint at Machakos police station, and we will investigate,” Singi said.
The two suspects will be arraigned on August 28, 2024.
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