Five suspected Kenyan armed robbers who have been in prison custody since their arrest about three years ago, pleaded with a Mombasa law court on Tuesday March 20 to set them free so they could continue with their education.

They are facing trial for allegedly robbing police constables Ibrahim Hamisi and Simon Lochodo on October 2, 2015 and making away with two G3 rifles worth Sh115,000.

They were also linked to other robbery and terror incidents in Kenya and are facing charges including  possession of chemicals used to make explosives, possession of two rifles and 37 bullets, and possession of 10 Identification cards belonging to different people, one of them a victim of robbery, according to nation.co.ke.

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Apparently speaking for his colleagues, one of the robbers said: “My peers are ahead of me now because I have been locked up in prison. I humbly request the court to acquit me so that I can go back home and continue with my studies.

"I fear that I also wish to become a better person in society but my dreams seem shattered because I am locked up and I can’t progress with my life.”

The suspects who pleaded guilty to the charges apparently touched the heart of the Mombasa Senior Principal Magistrate, Francis Kyambia.

Though he eventually adjourned the case to April 5, he warned the prosecution, saying: “This is the same excuse the prosecution has continued making before the court. We are not fools, however, I will grant the last adjournment. I have also issued sermons to the witness.”