House help charged with stealing Sh400,000 from employer in Nairobi. [Photo/chronicle.co.zw]
A 34-year-old house help was on Thursday sentenced to serve one year in prison after she was found guilty by a Kibera Court of stealing Sh400,000 from her employer.
Ms Jackline Kathumbi was being accused of stealing Sh400,000 from Ms Nancy Kiarie on November 30, 2014 at King'ara Greens Apartments.
The accused person was being charged alongside a plumber, Mr Collins Enos who was being accused of assisting Kathumbi in stealing the money by duplicating the house keys.
The court heard on the material day, the two jointly broke into Kiarie's apartment with intent to steal the money.
According to the Star, Mr Enos in his statement denied the charges saying that Ms Kathumbi called him and told him to rush to her employer's house immediately.
When he got there, Kathumbi ordered him to remove the kitchen padlock and take it to corner stage a nearby shopping centre to get duplicate keys and when he returned, Kathambi went to her employer master's bedroom and came out with Sh2,000 which she gave to Enos for the good job done.
Later that day when Kiarie returned home she checked her bedside cabinet for the money she intended to invest but was shocked to find Sh400,000 out of the Sh900,000 missing and she confronted her house girl who denied taking the money.
Kiarie reported the matter at the police station and after investigations, the security guard who was on duty that day said he saw a plumper coming out of that house with money and he asked what it was for and he said that he had been paid for a plumber job.
The two accused persons were later arrested by the police who upon search they found Sh4,000 in Kathumbi house which was taken as exhibit.
Senior Principal Magistrate Elizabeth Juma in her ruling found Ms Kathumbi guilty saying the prosecution has proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.
However, the case against Enos was weak and there was nothing connecting him to the theft of the said money that was taken from the house.
In mitigation, Kathumbi asked the court for leniency saying that she was very remorseful of what she did and that she will strive to be a law abiding citizen if released.
Magistrate Juma in her ruling considered her mitigation and seriousness of the offence and ordered her to pay a Sh300,000 fine in default to serve a one year jail term.