Disgruntled employee blows lid on sh34million shoe heist

Godwin Mbuka Ariodo. (Photo/Lilian Chepkoech)

Two men who had been employed by a Chinese international shoe-selling company in Nairobi have been arraigned in court after a managing director reported the two to authorities owing to the confession made by one of them.

This was after Godwin Mbuka Ariodo claimed that he had been conspiring with Simon Mwangi and a storekeeper on the run to steal from their boss Boa Aiwo, the proprietor of Shining Vanshoe International limited.

Ariodi, who felt betrayed, let out the secret after he was not given his share of the proceeds from stolen 54 cartons of shoes which were sold to brokers in Kamukunji and Gikomba Market.

According to the particulars, Mwangi and Ariodo conspired to steal a total of 2,750 cartons of shoes all valued at Sh34,313,680 from Aiwo on diverse dates between December 10, 2021, and July 24, 2024, from the godown in Industrial area.

Initially, Ariodo was the first to be fired after he was suspected of stealing goods and reselling them. What Aiwo didn't realise was that Mwangi was Ariodo's main link.

They allegedly planned how to steal shoes, sell them then share the proceeds. In a recent plan, 54 cartons of shoes were secretly loaded onto a vehicle and transported to Kamukunji market where they were sold. However, Ariodo seemed to have been sidelined in the deal.

This made him mad and he revealed their secret to a salesperson. The report reached Aiwo. When the two were arraigned in court, they denied the charges.

Senior Principal Magistrate Justus Kituku granted them a bond of Sh1 million each.