Of indecent acts, shoplifting, drunk and disorderly: The petty crimes landing Kenyans in the dock

Diversion as a means of turning minor offences into restorative solutions.

When every petty infraction is funnelled into a full criminal trial, courts clog, prisons swell and ordinary people carry lifelong criminal convictions and records for momentary lapses.

In Kenya, a diversion was established by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) pursuant to the National Prosecution Policy and Article 159 of the Constitution of Kenya.

It provides a framework for alternative pathways to justice, moving eligible cases out of the formal court process and into structured, restorative outcomes that repair harm, hold offenders accountable, and free the justice system to focus on serious crime.

Prosecutors can apply diversion remedies tailored to the offence, such as a simple caution or warning, a written apology to the victim, payment for damage done, or referral to a structured diversion programme, a restorative justice process, or a similar scheme.

The framework for diversion is rooted in the 2015 National Prosecution Policy (NPP).

It prioritises restorative approaches that address the harm caused by offenders while offering a second chance to those who accept responsibility for their actions, particularly young or vulnerable offenders, or those in cases where special circumstances apply.

Requests for diversion may be made orally or in writing to the prosecutor by an offender or their representative, a child offender through their representative, a Children’s Officer, the police, a judicial officer, or even the victim.

Public prosecutors exercising delegated authority determine whether a person is eligible for diversion either before or after a charge is laid.

Diversion is, however, not available after the close of the prosecution case.

In residential neighbourhoods, especially in the informal settlements, crowded markets, bus stages and social spaces across Kenya, ordinary frustrations and split-second decisions routinely cross the line into criminal territory.

What many regard as petty or casual daily acts often result in an arrest, prosecution, and later fines, short-term imprisonment or committal to community service orders and probation.

Daily, Kenya’s magistrate courts handle a steady stream of such cases, imposing sentences on those who plead or are found guilty, releasing others on cash bail pending trial, or placing offenders on community service and probation.

The offences that appear most regularly include offensive conduct, traffic violations, being drunk and disorderly, possession of cannabis or weapons, shoplifting, stealing by servant, domestic threats, online harassment, and indecent acts.

Drawn from reported court proceedings, the following cases illustrate how everyday lapses and desperate choices bring ordinary people before the courts and how the justice system responds.

These offences are contributing to case backlogs and congestion in prisons amid futile efforts to reduce offender numbers in correctional facilities.

Offensive conduct

Using threatening, abusive or insulting words in a public place is an offence. The practice is widespread, including among politicians during election campaigns, and is particularly common in informal settlements where people have normalised calling others derogatory names based on physical appearance, health or social status.

Venic Moraa Luka was sentenced to a one-day community service order (cleaning court premises) after she admitted to abusing her neighbour on August 2, 2026, at Tassia River Bank in Embakasi Sub-County, contrary to Section 94 of the Penal Code.

She had accused the neighbour of being a witchdoctor who had bewitched her, causing her to remain ill at home for a week so that the neighbour’s hotel business could thrive while hers remained closed.

She shouted: “Wewe toka hapa uliniroga nika kaa wiki moja kwa nyumba ndiyo muuze. Tokeni hapa na bwana yako nyinyi ni wagonjwa.”

Drunk and disorderly

Under Section 33 of the Alcoholic Drinks Control Act, any person found in a public place so intoxicated as to be incapable of taking care of himself or herself is liable to a fine of Sh500 or imprisonment for up to three months.

On May 20, 2026, eight Arsenal Football Club fans were each fined Sh500 after they became disorderly while celebrating the Premier League title victory at Kimumu estate along the Eldoret–Iten Highway.

Elsewhere, Patrick Karobia pleaded for forgiveness after going to his estranged wife’s residence in Mwiki at about 3 am. On August 29, 2026, he knocked and shouted that he wanted to see her because she was still his wife.

He staggered outside until approximately 5 am when he was found seated and unable to speak coherently. His conduct left his wife and children unsettled. After a probation report, he was placed on a community service order.

Shoplifting and opportunistic theft

Shoplifting, taking, concealing merchandise, switching price tags, transferring contents into different containers or leaving a store without paying is an offence under Section 268 of the Penal Code and carries a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment.

Richard Ochami, 18, appeared in a Nairobi court after cake remnants were found in his pockets and a laptop valued at Sh24,000 was discovered tucked into his waistband.

He had posed as an ordinary customer at a Naivas supermarket in Donholm, selected cakes and milk, then retreated to the ladies’ washrooms to consume them.

After discarding the packaging, he allegedly entered the operations manager’s office, took the laptop, returned to the washrooms to adjust two layers of clothing, and concealed the computer inside his trousers before attempting to leave. He was released on a cash bail of Sh40,000 pending trial.

At another Naivas outlet in Kasarani, 19-year-old Daniel Muriuki Mutabari admitted stealing a pair of safety boots worth Sh5,695. He was fined Sh20,000 or six months’ imprisonment in default.

Abusing illegal substances

Philistine Osoro Bosire, a garbage collector, was charged with being found in possession of 12 rolls of processed cannabis valued at Sh1,200.

Neighbours had complained to the chief that the smell of the substance he boiled as tea was affecting them.

Bosire admitted the offence, explaining that the cannabis helped him cope with the overpowering stench of the refuse he collected daily and that he lacked better employment. He pleaded guilty, prompting the court to order a social inquiry before his sentence.

Weapons and conspiracy

Carrying a knife, sword, or panga can lead to a charge of preparation to commit a felony contrary to Section 308 of the Penal Code. Many accused persons are eventually acquitted when the prosecution fails to prove the necessary intent.

Shee Hassan Ali was arrested on July 4, 2025, after being found carrying a kitchen knife and a stick fitted with a metal ring. He claimed the stick was used to lead a donkey. He was acquitted after the prosecution failed to prove intent to commit a crime.

Obstructing police

Under Section 103 of the National Police Service Act, any person who hinders, resists or wilfully obstructs a police officer in the execution of duty commits an offence.

Mwinzi Mwangangi, a tout at a stage in Njiru Sub- County, faced charges of assault, resisting arrest and obstruction after allegedly biting a police officer on the right middle finger when he attempted to prevent police from arresting a group of youths touting.

Mwangangi filmed the officers, hurled insults and actively prevented the arrest of his colleagues. He was released on a cash bail of Sh30,000.

In Ruaraka’s Babadogo area, plain-clothes officers on patrol targeting touts and conductors operating without required uniforms and identification badges attempted to handcuff Bernard Odhiambo and Winstone Khaimba but they allegedly incited members of the public to prevent the arrest. The case is scheduled for hearing this month.

Domestic threats and violence

Household disputes frequently escalate into threats or violence that end in court, even when the intention was merely to frighten a partner.

City rider Victor Okoth Ondiek was charged with threatening to kill his wife, Pauline Atieno, if she left him or was found with another man.

The couple had been experiencing domestic problems. Atieno had left the matrimonial home with the children.

Ondiek told the court he issued the threats to frighten her in an attempt to win her back. Atieno appeared in court and asked that the case be withdrawn because she wanted her husband home.

Chief Magistrate Kennedy Bidali granted the application but warned:

Vandalism and malicious damage

Acts such as graffiti, smashing windows or defacing property fall under malicious damage contrary to Section 339 of the Penal Code.

Ann Muthoni Mwangi was accused of breaking into the dwelling of her former husband and destroying household goods by pouring water, rice, sugar and maize flour onto the floor and mixing them.

The incident allegedly occurred after their marriage collapsed and she became enraged that her estranged husband had hired a day worker instead of taking her back to perform the chores. The trial is continuing.

Velma Kalondu was captured on CCTV scratching the bonnet of her former boyfriend’s vehicle with a stone outside a lounge in Kasarani.

Velma had allegedly demanded substantial monthly upkeep payments after the relationship ended and had previously threatened to expose nude videos. She was released on a cash bail of Sh30,000.

Trespass

Entering private property by going over, under or through a fence or gate with intent to intimidate, annoy, insult or steal is an offence.

D.K.M., a teenager, was charged with trespass after allegedly entering the house of Stephen Kimani Kamau in Ridgeways and demanding Kamau’s identification card, claiming that he (Kamau) was his father.

He was further accused of issuing threats when access was denied. The matter remains active.

Obtaining credit by pretences

Obtaining credit, money or goods by false pretences is an offence under Section 316 of the Penal Code.

Samuel Mwangi Kung’u, 52, was charged after running up bills of Sh6,490 and Sh6,000 at two different bars while claiming he would pay by mobile money.

He allegedly presented himself as a police officer on one occasion and as an employee of the Kenya Ports Authority on another to win their trust. He was granted a cash bail of Sh50,000 or an alternative bond of Sh100,000.

Giving false information

Under Section 129 of the Penal Code, giving false information to a police officer that leads to the wrongful arrest or malicious prosecution of an innocent person is unlawful.

Wyclife Onserio Mongeri admitted giving false information to police. He claimed that a 12-year-old boy had been neglected by his mother when the child was in fact under the care of his biological father.

The false reports were intended to secure the mother’s arrest in the hope of forcing a reconciliation after she left him with the children. He was remanded pending the formal reading of the facts.

Stealing by servant

Under Section 281 of the Penal Code, an employee who takes money or property belonging to the employer with intent to pay themself commits an offence punishable by up to seven years’ imprisonment.

Economic hardship and delayed wages have led some workers to resort to “self-help” by taking funds they claim are owed to them. Most admit the offence upon arraignment. Labour laws require employees to pursue unpaid wages through labour tribunals, courts or labour officers rather than taking the law into their own hands.

Traffic offences

Section 117 of the Traffic Act allows an offender either to admit the offence and pay the prescribed fine immediately upon notification by police (or via digital message) or to contest the charge in court.

Crossing a busy road at an undesignated point instead of using a pedestrian bridge or zebra crossing constitutes obstruction.