A man has been sentenced by a Kisumu court to serve two years in prison for seven counts of fraud.
Jeremiah Kamande, a teacher, was convicted that on or before June 22, 2011, he forged pay slips, a loan statement and stop orders which he presented to KCB bank in Kisii to get a loan of Sh377, 695.
Chief magistrate Lucy Gitari ruled that evidence produced by nine witnesses who testified against Kamande linked him to all the counts.
“I find that the first three counts (forgery of payslips) were proved beyond reasonable doubt as the accused wanted to get a loan which he did not qualify for by pretending that his loan balance was less than what it actually was,” said the magistrate.
She added: “The offences were serious and the bank suffered losses it is unlikely to recover; a custodial conviction is called for. I therefore sentence the accused to two years in prison for each of the seven counts. The sentences run concurrently.”
The judgment read that Kamande had taken a loan from Platinum Credit and was still servicing it when he took the second loan from KCB using forged documents.
In the forged loan statement from Platinum, he lied that his balance was Sh55, 000 when the actual balance was Sh600, 000 and was being deducted in instalments of Sh10, 130 per month.
Other deductions left him with Sh5, 000 as salary. KCB could therefore not effect recovery from his employer.
“He obtained the loan by false pretence with an intent to defraud as he was not in a position to pay the loan,” the judgment read.
In his mitigation, Kamande said he had served the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) for 27 years and had never before been implicated.