NAIROBI, Kenya, May 24 – A middle aged lady has been sentenced to two years in prison by the Anti-Corruption Court sitting in Nairobi, after she was found guilty of receiving a Sh2,500 bribe.
The accused, Justinah Malela Syonzua, was ordered to pay a fine of Sh500,000 in alternative to the jail term set out by Chief Magistrate Douglas Agoti.
Syonzua, formerly an employee of the Ministry of Interior and Co-ordination of National Government, was charged with several counts, but the prosecution was only able to prove four charges levelled against her.
During the trial the prosecution told the court that the accused had on 8 September 2016, while working as a clerical officer based at the National Registration Bureau in Nairobi’s Kasarani , improperly received a benefit of the said amount from a person identified as Nahum Syombua Musyoka.
The amount was an inducement to facilitate the issuance of a birth certificate to Wayne Musyoka, a cousin to the complainant.
While sentencing her, the trial court observed that, the prosecution has proved the criminal charge against the accused beyond reasonable doubt on account of requesting for a bribe contrary to section 6 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) as set out under Act 2016 and she was convicted accordingly under section 21 of the CPC.