Ex-Govt employee fined Ksh.500,000 over Ksh.2,500 bribe

Ex-Govt employee fined Ksh.500,000 over Ksh.2,500 bribe

A former Huduma Centre clerk has been convicted for receiving a Ksh.2,500 bribe to forge a birth certificate.

The magistrate fined Justina Syonzua Malela Ksh.500,000 for two counts: abuse of office and receiving a bribe.

If she doesn’t pay the fine, she will serve two years in prison.

On Thursday, Anti-Corruption Court Magistrate Douglas Ogoti ruled that the prosecution had proved their case beyond reasonable doubt.

“The court finds that the issuance of a birth certificate under the Ministry of State for Immigration and persons was a public duty,” Ogoti said.

The court was told that on September 8, 2016 in Nairobi County, being a person employed by the Ministry of Interior and Co-ordination as clerk officer, Malela used her office to improperly confer herself a benefit of Ksh.2,500.

The money was received from Nahum Syombua Musyoka and was to ‘facilitate’ processing of a birth certificate for her niece Wayne Musyoka Maria.

The complainant Nahum Syombua Musyoka testified that on August 30, 2016, she called Malela who then asked for a Ksh.3,000 bribe, promising to deliver the birth certificate that evening.

That figure was however negotiated down to Ksh.2,500 as Musyoka said she could not afford the initially requested amount.

It is said that the money was sent to the officer on the same day through her M-Pesa number.

However the officer never delivered the said birth certificate and that when she decided to report the matter at Huduma Center and Integrity Centre-EACC.

The court in its ruling said that the evidence available demonstrated that the complainant only needed public duty to be performed but the accused took advantage of her.

In her defense, Malela admitted having received money but according to her it was from an unknown person to whom she later sent it back to.

The court however dismissed the defense submissions saying the move was an afterthought adding that Malela only returned the money after she was charged in court.

 

Tags:

corruption HUDUMA CENTRE EACC Nahum Syombua Musyoka

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