Kelvin Mokaya, a journalist, was shopping at Thika Road Mall in Nairobi on the afternoon of September 5 when he lost his wallet.
He reported the incident at the Kasarani Police Station and went home.
The man proceeded to his rural home a few days later and while there, he saw social media posts saying a man by his name had been arrested while trying to steal a car at the mall where he lost his wallet.
He came back to Nairobi and went to Kasarani Police Station over the matter.
Meanwhile, a man going by the same name was arraigned in Makadara and denied charges of attempted theft.
It later emerged that the suspect, whose real name is Evans Soita, had used Mr Mokoya’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.
“Luckily the man had not managed to raise the bail terms,” said Kasarani Police Boss Peter Kimani.
Speaking on Monday, the police boss said they will prefer more charges against Mr Soita.
Mr Kimani said the investigating officer went back to court and sought a production order so that the identity of the accused person could be changed.
“We have since established that he was using someone else’s identity,” he said.
Mr 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.
Mr 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.
Source: Daily Nation
