Uchumi CEO Lawrence Ngao in court over Sh135,000 chimney theft
Uchumi director and CEO Lawrence Ngao has been charged with stealing a chimney extractor fan valued at Sh135 000, the property of Hotspot Coffee Lounge Limited.
This, as the proprietor of the outlet, Maalim Hassan, also seeks justice over attempts to evict him from the 6,500-square-feet rented space on the ground floor of Uchumi’s Langata Hyper Branch off Langata Road, where he has operated a coffee restaurant since July 2023, when he secured his first lease agreement with the retailer.
The charge sheet states that Lawrence Musyimi Ngao, jointly with others who were not before court, conspired together to commit a felony namely stealing of a chimney extractor fan, with the charge being conspiracy to commit a felony contrary to section 393 of the penal code.
He is accused of committing the alleged crime on April 17, 2025 at Uchumi Hypermarket in Langata Sub-County within Nairobi County.
The second count was stealing contrary to section 268(1) as read with section 275 of the penal code where on the same date and place, Ngao jointly with others not before court, allegedly stole a chimney extractor fan valued at Sh135,000, the property of Hotspot Coffee Lounge Limited.
He denied the charges when he appeared in court on Monday and was released on a cash bail of Sh50 000.
Pre-trial date is scheduled for November 27, 2025.
