Wife of a once dreaded Kenyan armed robber, Bernard Thuo Matheri alias Rasta who has now turned into a pastor has revealed how she was drawn into robbery and not only supported his husband, but went on robbery operations with him.
Mary Wanjiru who said she was introduced to robbery by the late husband, Bernard Thuo Matheri alias Rasta attributed her criminal past to lack of proper parental control and care.
She supported her late husband in his criminal ways, took part in night and scary robbery operations with him until he was slain in 1997.
Bernard Thuo Matheri alias Rasta gave Kenyan police tough time during his era, but his death did not give them any respite either.
Mary Wanjiru took up the button, became more fearful, terrorized and robbed Kenyans with her gang members until she was arrested in 1999 after a botched KSh 196 million robbery in Meru.
She was prosecuted and jailed for 35 years, but the jail term was subsequently reduced to seven years, then to four years and she was finally released from prison after serving eleven years.
About 20 years since her arrest, Mary Wanjiru who was born in Gichugu, Kirinyaga County and now a Pastor at Jehovah Shalom Ministries in Kitengela recalled her criminal days in an interview with Tuko TV.
She said her first robbery operation was one she embarked on with her late husband at a supermarket where he held the workers and everybody hostage with his gun, while she collected all the monies.
She said: “We went back home and he told me, ‘I like you, I love how you have carried out your work’, since then, he would teach me how to handle a gun, he showed me tactics on how to manage the gun.”
Revealing how they succeeded in their robberies, Mary said they worked with insiders at any targeted company or location.
She said: “We would cooperate with the client until they wonder where is this thief from? And I never wanted to scare anyone while robbing them… my intentions were to get money only but never to kill them.”
