Mother, 2 Sons Jailed for 10 Years Over Money Laundering

The Director of Public Prosecutions has secured a 10-year jail sentence for three family members convicted of money laundering. 

In a statement, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) said the accused Christopher Joseph Okal, his brother Vincent Anyumba, and their mother Grace Minayo Okal were also sentenced to 10 years in jail for the acquisition and possession of proceeds of crime. 

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“The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has today secured a 10-year jail sentence for three family members convicted by the Kisumu Magistrate's Court for money laundering contrary to Section 3(a), (b), (i), (ii) and (iii), as read with Section 16(1)(a) of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act.

“Further, Mr. Christopher Joseph Okal, his brother Mr. Vincent Anyumba, and their mother Ms. Grace Minayo Okal were also sentenced to 10 years in prison for the acquisition and possession of proceeds of crime contrary to Section 4(a)(b)(c), read with Section 16(1)(a) of the same Act,” read the statement in part. 

According to the ODPP, Kisumu Senior Principal Magistrate Fatuma Rashid found the three guilty of all six counts as charged by the prosecution. 

The three family members were also sentenced to a further five years in prison each for conspiracy to commit a felony. 

Okal, who worked as an accountant at Such Enterprises Limited, faced an additional 5-year sentence for stealing by servant, fraudulent false accounting and stealing. 

His mother and brother were also handed an additional three-year sentence for stealing. 

The case stems from fraudulent diversion of customer payments and wholesale goods worth Ksh113.2 million from Such Enterprises Limited in Kisumu on diverse dates between October 2020 and July 2021. 

“Prosecution told the court that the three knowingly engaged in transactions involving money and property obtained from the theft, with the intention of concealing or disguising its source or ownership,” ODPP stated. 

During the trial, the prosecution called several witnesses, including company employees, customers, bank officials, forensic examiners and investigating officers. 

The court heard that Okal manipulated the company’s accounting system by creating fictitious transactions and diverting customer payments to accounts linked to his co-convicts.

“Evidence presented by the Prosecution, including forensic document investigation, showed that Mr. Okal used his access privileges to alter records and conceal transactions. Similarly, an audit report identified Ksh113,227,529 that had not been accounted for,” ODPP said. 

The court also heard that customers were instructed to deposit payments for goods into accounts associated with the three family members instead of the company's official accounts.

“The court rejected the convicts’ assertion that the transactions were legitimate business arrangements, finding that the Prosecution evidence demonstrated a coordinated scheme to defraud the company and conceal the proceeds,” the ODPP stated. 

Magistrate Rashid ruled that the prosecution proved their case against the three family members on all the counts. 

The Magistrate also said the jail terms of the three will run concurrently.

The three convicts have 14 days to appeal both their convictions and sentences.

This comes days after former USIU student Duncan Livingstone Kimathi was sentenced to death for murdering his fellow student, Sarah Akello Aruwa, in a case involving abduction and a ransom demand of Ksh100,000.

In a statement on Thursday, October 29, ODPP announced the sentence after Justice Kanyi Kimondo found the 37-year-old guilty of murdering Akello in an incident that occurred between June 30 and July 1, 2012, in the Kiamako area of Githunguri, Kiambu County.

According to the ODPP, the prosecution presented 17 witnesses to establish the circumstances surrounding Akello's abduction, the ransom demands made to her family, and her subsequent murder.

The court heard that Kimathi and his accomplices had lured Akello into a trap before abducting her and demanding money from her family in exchange for her release. 

Justice Kimondo concluded that the circumstances surrounding the abduction and killing demonstrated malice aforethought.

In delivering his judgment, Justice Kimondo found that Kimathi had deliberately lured Akello into a trap before the abduction and ransom demands that preceded her killing.

"In his judgment, Justice Kimondo found that Mr. Kimathi had acted with malice aforethought, noting that the deceased had been deliberately lured into a trap for abduction and ransom before being murdered," ODPP said