Four years in jail or 7 million fine for former Kenya Reinsurance Director and co-accused

0

Former Kenya Reinsurance corporation Director of Finance and corporate services and his co-accused have been sentenced to four years in prison in default pay Sh 7 million after being found guilty of graft.

John Faustin Kinyua (Director) and Charles Kinuthia Gichane were found guilty of abuse of office and fraudulent acquisition of public property respectively.

Chief Magistrate Lawrence Mugambi ruled that the prosecution had succeeded in proving their case beyond reasonable doubt.

Kinyua is accused of using his office to improperly confer a benefit on Kinuthia by allocating and causing to be transfered to his name, House no. 70, Villa France Estate, Nairobi belonging to Kenya Re without any consideration.

Kinuthia was charges with fraudulent acquisition of the said public property belonging to the corporation.

The two are alleged to have committed the offence between 19th August and 27th October 2003 at Re-Insurance plaza in Nairobi.

The magistrate further ordered that the property be reverted to Kenya-Re forthwith.

In his judgement, the magistrate ruled that the court was not persuaded to believe that Kenya Re insurance corporation limited owed Kinuthia money as he alleged in his defense.

“This was a well choreographed fraudulent scheme that was executed with the complicity of insiders sitting right inside Kenya Re-Insurance Corporation where the first accused (Kinyua) was the facilitator,” ruled Mugambi.

It was further ruled that the hand of the first accused was evident considering the manner in which he handled the company’s cheque after receiving it.

“To allow the cheque meant to clear debts owed to Kenya Re-Insurance to be used to purportedly pay for the purchase price of a property belonging to Kenya Re by an individual and the said property is transfered from Kenya Re to such an individual is a double blow to Kenya Re and a gross abuse of office by first accused,” the magistrate ruled.