KENYA: BANANA HAWKER TO HANG FOR VIOLENT ROBBERY

a banana vendor was sentenced to death in Kenya for violently robbing a nurse in Kirinyaga District two years ago. James Munene Kanyi alias Baite, 27, was convicted by Nyeri senior resident magistrate Elizabeth Osoro. He was found guilty of robbing Ms Agnes Njeri Kogie of her cell phone and Sh5,000 on July 12, 2005 in her clinic at Kibirigwi trading centre, Ndia Division. The magistrate acquitted his alleged accomplice, Mr Peter Wamugunda Njando, for lack of evidence. The court heard that Kanyi, accompanied by another man, visited her clinic masquerading as a patient. As she took down his details, he produced a pistol and ordered her to surrender cash and valuables. Three other gang members burst into the clinic. She raised the alarm as the gang escaped, and villagers seized Kanyi.