Italian Man Walks Scot-free After Stealing Car from Nairobi Cab Driver

An Italian national who admitted to stealing a car from a taxi driver in Nairobi has walked away scot-free.

Maurizio Monticelli stole the vehicle worth Sh1.1 million on July 3rd after requesting the driver to drop him in Nairobi CBD.

After driving for a distance, Monticelli told the driver to stop at a gas station to buy some cigarettes. He then asked him to go and check whether the shop at the filling station was open.

Unaware of his customer’s intentions, the driver left the engine running and Monticelli jumped in the driver’s seat and sped off towards town.

The taxi driver, who had been hired by Amos Kalawa, reported the incident at Parklands police station in Nairobi.  Police later tracked the car to Shanzu in Mombasa and arrested the Italian man on July 13th.

He was arraigned at Kibera law courts where he was charged with two counts of stealing and handling stolen property. Appearing before resident magistrate William Tulel, Monticelli pleaded guilty to charges leveled against him.

The foreigner did not receive any punishment after the car’s owner pardoned him and dropped the charges. Kalawa withdrew the case, saying he did not wish to pursue it any further as he recovered his car.