A court martial sitting at Isiolo Barracks has sentenced a former Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldier to 42 months in prison.
Andrew Muoki Mutua was found guilty of soliciting and receiving bribes by pretending he would influence the recruitment of two Kenyans into the KDF.
Isiolo Chief Magistrate Samuel Mungai convicted Muoki to a custodial sentence after finding him guilty on three counts of fraud during the 2019 recruitment.
On the first count, Muoki who was a Sergeant before he was dismissed from KDF for the offences, was found guilty of obtaining Sh300,000 from Edwin Kinyua Muriithi and his father Muriithi Kinyua.
Read: Fake KDF Officers Who Conned Man Sh350,000 In Kasarani Arrested
The court heard that, Kinyua had a series of meetings with Mr Muoki at restaurants in Nairobi in 2019. The former military man offered to help the complainant secure a job.
Kinyua who could not raise the money approached his father, a peasant farmer, to help with raise the funds.
Muriithi was forced to borrow the money which he would later deposit to the accused person’s bank account.
The two, however, became restless when Muoki became elusive after the recruitment drive ended without being presented with a calling letter for the military training.
Read Also: Ex-Soldier Arrested With Suspected Fake KDF Recruitment Letters In Machakos, Sh180,000 Seized
Devastated by the turn of events, Kinyua lodged a complaint through the Ministry of Defence (MoD) Website. The complaint was investigated, and Muoki was arrested and charged on December 3, 2020.
On the second and third counts, Muoki was found guilty of soliciting Sh450,000 from Nelson Mandera Kabwere to help his friend Mohammed Shukri secure yet another spot in the force.
The court was told that Mandera who had known the accused learnt that Muoki was in a position to influence the recruitment if bribed.
The money was to be paid in two installments with a down payment of Sh250,000 made immediately to ‘process the calling letter’ while the balance was to be paid after Mohammed had joined the Recruits Training School (RTS) within Moi Barracks in Eldoret.
Read Also: Be Wary Of Fake Calling Letters Ahead Of Recruitment Drive- KDF
Muoki is said to have received the complainant’s credentials among them the national identity card, academic certificates, HIV test results as well as other supporting documents.
In his defence, the accused alleged that the money deposited in his account was part of payment made by his customers for his cereals business. The Court Martial, however, dismissed the defence as an afterthought which was unconvincing.
Consequently, the Court Martial gave a sentence of two-years imprisonment for count one, six months and one year in jail for the second and third counts respectively and ordered the sentences to run concurrently.
He is being held at the Meru Prison.
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