A former manager of Fina Bank, now Guaranty Trust Bank Kenya (GT), and three traders were each sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing Sh96 million from the firm a decade ago.

However, chief magistrate Francis Andayi stayed the sentence for a year to give Graham Sagwe, the former Fina Bank manager, Robert Moseti, and Obadiah Nyambane time to repay a Sh15 million debt in their last attempt to settle the case outside of court and avoid jail.

As a first installment, the magistrate ordered Sh4.5 million that had been deposited in court as cash bail by Sagwe, Moseti, Nyambane, and the mastermind of the fraud, Don Bosco Gichana who did not stand trial in Kenya since he was arrested and detained in Tanzania over money laundering, be paid to the bank.

This now leaves a balance of Sh10.5 million which they have to pay the bank within 12 months.

“If you will have not paid the Sh10.5 million by January 10, 2023 just take yourselves to prison to serve the 18-month sentence,” Mr Andayi told the convicts.

Mr Andayi handed down the non-custodial sentence after the convicts said they were remorseful and have since reformed for the last 11 years they have gone through the trial.

“I note that the accused attended court religiously for the last 11 years,” Mr Andayi stated.

The magistrate said the suspects had been directed by Justice Mohamed Warsame in 2010 to return the money which had been distributed among five people after it was re-routed from Fina Bank to an account of Malch Construction Limited at EcoBank.

“After lawyers, Albert Kuloba and Ian Maina returned the money received by their law firms, charges filed against them were dropped,” Mr Andayi said.

He added that it is in that spirit that more than Sh80 million was returned to the bank. The magistrate noted the balance of Sh15 million was not paid since the mastermind of the fraud was arrested and detained in Tanzania. Although he has since been freed, he was not arraigned.

Mr Andayi said the prosecution had lined up 53 witnesses but reduced the number to seven after the repayment of more than Sh80 million by the accused. Mr Andayi who has since been transferred to Nyeri from Milimani Law Courts returned to deliver the judgment on January 10, 2022, in the case that has been pending in court for the past 11 years.

The sentence was delivered on January 10, 2022, at 6 pm.

The Sh96 million was diverted from paying a Chinese contractor – Garden Real Estate Development Limited—to a Kenyan firm, Malch Construction Ltd associated with Don Bosco Gichana, which had not handled any construction works.

Rtn. Victor Ojelabi

Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.