Three members of the same family have been sentenced to prison after a Kisumu court found them guilty of stealing Sh113.2 million from a local company and laundering the proceeds.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) secured the convictions and sentences against Christopher Joseph Okal, his brother Vincent Anyumba and their mother, Grace Minayo Okal, over a fraud scheme targeting Such Enterprises Limited.
Senior Principal Magistrate Fatuma Rashid sentenced the three to 10 years in prison each for money laundering and a further 10 years for acquiring and possessing proceeds of crime. They were also handed five-year prison terms each for conspiracy to commit a felony.
Joseph Okal, who worked as an accountant at the company, received additional five-year sentences for stealing by servant and fraudulent false accounting. He was also sentenced to five years for stealing. His mother and brother were each given an additional three-year sentence for stealing.
The case arose from the diversion of customer payments and wholesale goods valued at Sh113,227,529 from the Kisumu-based company between October 2020 and July 2021. According to the prosecution, the accused knowingly handled money and property obtained through the theft, seeking to conceal the source and ownership of the proceeds.
The court heard that Okal exploited his position as an accountant to manipulate the company’s financial records, create fictitious transactions and redirect customer payments to accounts linked to his co-accused. Customers were allegedly instructed to deposit payments for goods into bank and mobile money accounts associated with the three instead of the company’s official accounts.
An audit report presented in court identified more than Sh113 million that could not be accounted for, while forensic document examination revealed alterations to company records.
The prosecution called company employees, customers, bank officials, forensic experts and investigating officers to testify on how the scheme was carried out.
The three denied the charges, arguing that the transactions were legitimate business arrangements. However, Magistrate Rashid dismissed their defence, finding that the evidence established a coordinated effort to defraud the company and conceal the stolen funds.
In her ruling, the magistrate identified Okal as the mastermind behind the scheme, saying he used accounts belonging to his mother and brother to conceal the trail of customer payments. The court subsequently convicted the three on all six counts and sentenced them under Section 215 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The sentences will run concurrently, meaning the accused will serve their prison terms at the same time.
The three have 14 days to appeal both their convictions and sentences.
