A tea farmer was arraigned at Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi for pocketing money sent to him by mistake.
Late last year, Josphat Keire Abere received Sh36,000 from Victoria Commercial Bank Limited in Nairobi.
According to a police report, the amount was part of Sh127, 613 that Ecoline Energy Ltd had requested Victoria Commercial Bank to deposit in the Mpesa accounts of their employees.
“The bulk Mpesa totalling to Sh127,613 was processed and accredited to various Mpesa accounts as listed in the email by their client,” a police statement read.
However, on November 9, 2020, Ecoline wrote to the bank complaining that one of its employees had not received the money.
The bank established it had wired Sh36000 to a wrong M-Pesa number and upon requesting a reversal from Abere, Safaricom notified the lender that the money had already been withdrawn.
Abera is also said to have switched off his phone, but he was later traced and arrested.
Appearing before Milimani Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi, the farmer pleaded guilty to using Sh36,000 from Victoria Commercial Bank.
He pleaded with the court to allow him to pay the bank Sh2000 monthly until he clears the full amount.
Magistrate Andayi rejected his plea saying the amount was little. He ordered a pre-sentencing report to be filed in court on August 27, 2021, before sentencing the suspect.
According to Section 35 of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, Abere is facing a Sh200,000 fine or a two-year jail term, or both.
