A Nairobi man who tried to sneak out of a restaurant without paying a bill of Sh22,760 has been convicted and fined Sh30,000 or, in default, serve two months in prison.
The accused Qurine Omondi Muteshi pleaded guilty to obtaining services by false pretence after ordering food and drinks for himself and friends at Vibanda Village Restaurant and failing to settle the bill.
According to the prosecution, the man pretended to make a phone call before attempting to leave the premises. He was stopped by an attendant as he tried to board a matatu.
Despite several attempts by staff to persuade him to pay, he refused, prompting the management to call officers from Capitol Hill Police Station, who arrested him. Eight receipts from the restaurant were produced in court as evidence.
In mitigation, the man told the court that he was a father of four and a former USAID employee who is now unemployed. He said he lost track of money while in the company of women he had been socializing with.
"So I was surrounded by a lot of ladies. They were ordering, and after eating, everyone disappeared," he told the court.
"I am still not conversant with Nairobi; I have been here for four years. I even have loans that I don’t know how to manage."
He pleaded for leniency, emphasizing that he was the sole breadwinner and struggling to make ends meet.
The court, however, convicted him as charged and imposed the fine, sending a stern message against attempting to avoid payment for services rendered.
Muteshi was charged with obtaining credit by false pretence under Section 316(a) of the Penal Code, which deals with fraudulently incurring a debt while knowing one is unable to pay.
The offence occurred on October 3, 2025, at around 1:00 PM at Vibanda Village Restaurant in Upper Hill, Nairobi, where he consumed food, drinks, and water totaling sh22,760 while falsely pretending he could pay.
He was arrested the same day without a formal warrant and held in the Capitol Hill police station, where he was later arraigned on October 6, 2025, in Milimani law courts.
Witnesses included the complainant, Oscar Oloo, and police officers from Capitol Hill.
