City Man Jailed For Spending Money Sent To Him By Mistake

A man on Monday pleaded guilty to two counts of stealing after he spent money that was sent to him by mistake via a mobile money transfer service.

A Nairobi court heard that on November 3, 2020, Cyrus Nzoka Maithya received Sh16, 463 from an M-Pesa number registered in the name of Harriet Karimi.

“Cyrus Nzioka Maithya on November 3, 2020, in Nairobi otherwise in the course of stealing dishonestly received Sh16463 in your Mpesa account knowing or having reasons to believe it was stolen,” read the second count of the charge sheet.

While pleading guilty, Mr Maithya asked the court to forgive him, saying he is a father of two who depend on him.

Nairobi Senior Principal magistrate Martha Nazushi gave him a chance to return the money to the owner but he said he had already spent it.

The magistrate slapped him with a 3-month jail term or an alternative fine of Ksh20,000.