Student lied to get funds, MP tells court

Mvita Member of Parliament Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir took the witness stand at the Mombasa law courts against a student charged with fraud.

Nassir testified against a high school student, charged with conspiracy to obtain Mvita Community Development Funds bursary using forged documents. Shariff narrated to the court that in May, his office received 12 applications from students claiming to be studying in a ‘St. Ben’s Academy’ in Nairobi, which after verification with the Ministry of Education was found to be non-existent.

Nassir said he instructed his staff to wait for anyone who would show up to pick the cheque and interrogate them further.

On May 21, the accused, Mohamed Said Shughuli, a Form Four student at Pwani Secondary School in Likoni, Mombasa showed up to pick the cheque, armed with a stamped letter from the school and a school ID, documents the MP says were forged.

Nassir told the court the accused was then locked in a room within his office premises and called Makupa Police Station officers to arrest him for investigation.

Nassir produced a letter he had addressed to the local District Education Officer seeking clarification on the authenticity of the schools to be issued with cheque for beneficiaries and a response confirming the existence of St. Ben’s Academy.

The 12 fictitious students had each been awarded Sh5,000 and a single cheque worth Sh60,000 had been drawn in favour of St. Ben’s Academy.

In his testimony before Senior Principal magistrate Justus Kituku, Said, who claimed to be an orphan said he was being used by his late father’s friend, who had promised to help him commit a felony, without his knowledge.

The court found Said has a case to answer and ruling will be delivered on September 15, 2014.