A house help who stole her employer’s items after she slashed her salary has pleaded guilty to a charge of theft by servant.
Rose Kemunto Achoka was accused of stealing among others; sweatpants, face towel, and car keys, from Joyce Momanyi at her home in Kileleshwa on May 3.
Appearing before Kibera chief magistrate Joyce Gandani, Ms Kemunto admitted stealing the items worth Sh22,500.
Ms Momanyi is said to have left her house under the care of Ms Achoka when she travelled to Mombasa in early March this year.
The househelp said they differed on phone the next month after Ms. Momanyi cut her salary by Sh1,500. Achoka was employed on a monthly salary of Sh7000.
The accused said she used the complainant’s suitcase to dupe security guards that she was not leaving employment.
The guards would later inform Momanyi that Achoka had left with a bag, prompting her to return to Nairobi. She found the items missing from her house and filed a report with the police.
Officers traced Achoka to Mukuru kwa Reuben where police recovered the items.
In her defense, the accused told the court she took the items as ransom to force Ms. Momanyi to pay the Sh1,500 before returning them to her.
Magistrate Joyce Gandani sentenced Achoka to a two-month jail term or an alternative of paying a Sh8000 fine.
