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Suspect pleads guilty to stage-managing witchcraft incident

By WACHIRA MWANGI September 7th, 2017 2 min read

A fifth suspect in the Mombasa witchcraft drama has pleaded guilty to giving false information before the Shanzu law court.

Elizabeth Sarah Wetaba, the woman who claimed to have lost a motor vehicle on Friday last week in Kiembeni, admitted to giving false information to a police office.

In an interesting twist of events, Ms Wetaba, while recording a statement at the Bamburi Police Station, gave her name as Catherine Kandubia.

Shanzu Law Court Senior Principal Magistrate Diana Mochache ordered that she be remanded until September 13 for the mention of the case.

In her defence she asked the court to release her on bond, a plea which SPM Mochache declined.

CRIMINAL GANG

Prosecutor Winnie Kabinga applied that she be denied bond.

“Your honor investigation to this case is on going, we believe she is part of a criminal gang arrested yesterday,” she said.

She added that the ownership of the motor vehicle is yet to be established despite her being the first to make the report.

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“She was found to be operating with the alleged gang at Bamburi which staged-managed an event with the intention of deceiving members of the public,” she added.

The prosecution told the court that they had more evidential material from the CCTV cameras that showed how the whole event was staged.

She added that they intend to consolidate the two cases if they are found guilty of the crime.

STOLEN CAR

On Wednesday, Ms Wetaba claimed to have lost a car she allegedly hired on Friday of the Eid ul Adha celebrations.

On Wednesday evening police arrested four people (Yassin Lokorobe, Ronald Nganga, Patrick Omondi Moses and Musa Ongomu) suspected to have stage-managed the dramatic sorcery incident.

The suspects include two Ugandan men (the witch doctors) and two other men who posed as the disgraced thieves, who were arrested and arraigned before the Shanzu Law Court later in the day.

The alleged witch doctors are accused of being in possession of a snake without a licence from the Kenya Wildlife Service.

Police say they stage-managed the whole incident to boost their sorcery business.