What would you say is the reason you stole money if you were nabbed? In September 2020, Lincolin Kivuti Njeru, a former senior insurance manager was sentenced to three years in jail for stealing Sh. 62.7 million from his employer. Njeru was convicted of the offence and denied the option of a fine.
The court ruled that the former Insurance Company of East Africa (ICEA) assistant general manager could not explain the source of the millions of shillings in his bank accounts. It further ruled that the 58-year-old man was guilty of stealing Sh. 62,704,835.60 from ICEA.
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Following the sentence, Mr. Kivuti blamed his criminal act on greed and a young stupid mind. While pleading for a non-custodial sentence, Kivuti told probation officers that he regretted the theft that was carried out through the collapsed Nyaga Stockbrokers. He further said that he could have refunded the company the money if he were financially stable.
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The prosecution had appeared to sympathize with him and asked the court to treat him as a first offender. However, Milimani chief magistrate Francis Andayi dismissed the accused’s defense that the money “was an investment loss” and rejected a probation report seeking to have the accused given non-custodial sentence.
The magistrate said it was clear from the audit reports, the evidence tendered by the prosecution and the chain of cash transactions, that Lincolin Kivuti Njeru stole the millions. He noted the money withdrawn from HFCK, Barclays Bank of Kenya Limited and Nyaga Stock Brokers ended up in Njeru’s bank accounts.
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“It is quite clear that it is Njeru who stole the money and not a hard financing debt as claimed,” the magistrate said. Only Sh. 10 million out of the stolen amount was recovered.
InJanuary 2021 though, Njeru was set free on medical grounds. This was after he filed an application for review of his sentence. The main reason given was that he was suffering from acute asthma, a situation he claimed was further exacerbated by the pandemic.“
A letter from Nairobi Remand Health Centre confirms, that the applicant is unwell and weak considering his age of 60 years,” Justice Hedwig Ongudi said. Njeru through his advocate, also told the court that he was ready to pay a fine of Sh. 1 million which was the amount he had paid as cash bail and had not been refunded.