Azimio Coalition flagbearer Raila Odinga has ordered for the immediate and unconditional release of Alvin Linus Chivondo, a 21 year old Kenyan who was sentenced to jail after shoplifting from a Naivas supermarket in Nairobi.
In a tweet on Wednesday, the former prime minister lashed out at the country’s Judicial system for allowing politicians with criminal records to campaign for office will while on the other hand jailing ordinary Kenyans for petty crimes.
“Let Alvin Linus Chivondo be released unconditionally! Criminals are now getting a reprieve to campaign freely, while petty offenders are being jailed. Let the courts get their priorities right, for once, you can’t jail a man for trying to feed his family,” he tweeted.
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Alvin Linus Chivondo was charged with stealing 5kgs of rice, 5 litres of cooking oil, sugar and other items worth KSh 3,165 from the supermarket. In his defense, Chivondo, who is a trolley pusher, told the court that he has a four-month-old baby and they had slept hungry for days, prompting him to shoplift.