Naivas Shoplifter, Alvin Chivondo In Court Again After Sonko Bailing Him Out The First Time

Alvin Linus Chivondo, the notorious shoplifter who was released on bail in April by former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko after being apprehended robbing a grocery store in Naivas, has been charged with a similar crime once more.

Chivondo was charged with being in possession of Cannabis Sativa with a street value of Ksh. 2,000 shillings when he appeared before a Nairobi court on Monday.

He entered a not-guilty plea to the accusation.

Chivondo was held at Central Police Station after being apprehended in May Naivas Supermarket on Ronald Ngala Street while attempting to steal maize flour.

He had pleaded guilty to accusations of shoplifting and was found guilty by a Nairobi court in April. He was sentenced to pay a Ksh. 100,000 fine or serve a year in jail.

He had previously been caught stealing 5 kg of rice, honey, tea leaves, and sugar from a Naivas supermarket; the total value of the stolen goods was Ksh.3,165.

Political figures stepped forward to defend Chivondo after public outcry labeled the sentence as “cruel” and cited the fact that the man was merely attempting to feed his family.

ODM leader Raila Odinga took to Twitter then to call for his release saying: “Let the courts get their priorities right, for once, you can’t jail a man for trying to feed his family.”

Following the shoplifter’s release from Industrial Area Prison, Sonko went above and beyond by giving him a month’s worth of groceries and an employment offer at his Upper Hill headquarters.

“We’ve offered Alvin Chivondo a job at our Upper Hill offices and our team in the office has shown him what his job entails. Am happy the young man is now free. It’s my hope he will be a responsible man,” Sonko said then.