The Court of Appeal has upheld the conviction and death sentence of a man found guilty of robbery with violence, handing the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) another victory in a criminal appeal.
In a judgment delivered by a three-judge bench, the appellate court dismissed the appeal filed by Mwanzia Mbithi, ruling that both the trial court and the High Court had properly convicted and sentenced him.
Mbithi was found guilty of robbing Abdi Ahmed Hussein of 15 mobile phones worth Sh183,050 on Ronald Ngala Street in Nairobi on October 22, 2016. During the robbery, he used actual violence against the complainant.
The judges held that the conviction was based on credible, consistent and corroborated evidence, adding that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
"The sentence meted against him was as prescribed by law, and therefore the High Court did not err by upholding both the conviction and the sentence. This appeal is therefore devoid of any merit and is hereby dismissed," the judges ruled.
The court further noted that Section 296(2) of the Penal Code provides for the death penalty as the lawful sentence for the offence of robbery with violence.
The bench also found that the High Court had properly re-evaluated the evidence and correctly concluded that any discrepancies in the prosecution's case were minor and did not affect the overall strength of the evidence.
"We are satisfied that the discrepancies highlighted by the appellant amount only to trifling inconsistencies that did not undermine the prosecution's case," a court filing read.
On the issue of identification, the Court of Appeal ruled that Mbithi had been positively identified and that both the trial court and the High Court were right to rely on the identification evidence in convicting him.
The judges also dismissed the appellant's claim that his constitutional rights had been violated because he lacked legal representation, saying the matter could not be raised for the first time before the Court of Appeal after it had not been canvassed in the High Court.
The ruling means Mbithi will continue serving the death sentence imposed by the trial court, having exhausted his appeals before both the High Court and the Court of Appeal.