A case in which a man obtained Ksh 1.2 million from a family while purporting that he could enlist three brothers into Kenya Defence Forces during the 2021 recruitment exercise was brought before a Kiambu Court.
Andrew Musungu Wangwe was facing charges of obtaining cash from James Mwenda Mutiga under false pretense that he was in a position to enlist three of his brothers-in-law into the Kenya Defence Force, a fact he knew to be false.
He however denied the charges when he appeared before Kiambu Chief Magistrate Ms. Patriciah Gichohi.
The charge sheet read that he allegedly committed the offense on diverse date between January and February 2021, by defrauding the money from the complainant while at different places in the republic of Kenya he obtained 1,201,150 shillings.
He was released on a Ksh 300,000 shillings bond pending the hearing of the case set on June 20th, 2021.
During the mention, the defense counsel Oscar Munyendo informed the court he was yet to receive all the documentation pertaining to the case because he was compelled to travel from Kakamega to represent his client.
However the Chief Magistrate Gichohi told the counsel that he did not have to travel for the mention of his case but instead to log-in and attend session virtually.
“You should just have logged into the proceedings online and made the application you intended to make instead of physically coming to court” Ms. Gichohi told him.
The mention of the case comes after five Senior KDF officers were court-martialed at the Kahawa barracks for engaging in malpractices during the 2021 recruitment exercise.
The officers clad in their official uniforms faced various cases of fraud and receiving money on the promise that they would enlist desperate job seekers into the coveted forces.
Their case was heard by Judge Advocate Hosea Ng’ang’a but all the officers entered a plea of not guilty during the well-publicized proceedings.
By Lydia Shiloya