Ex-senator Joy Gwendo sentenced to two years in prison over Sh1.7m theft

Former Senator Joy Gwendo at Milimani Law Courts on Friday. (George Njunge, Standard)

A decision by former Senator Joy Gwendo to confer to herself money belonging to a cooperative society has landed her in jail.

Her freedom was curtailed yesterday after Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti slapped a two-year jail sentence on her for failing to honor a plea bargain she entered into with the state to settle a Sh1.7 million she allegedly stole from a cooperative society in Kisumu.

Abuse of office

“The subject before the court has been found guilty of abuse of office and failure to honor an agreement. I therefore sentence her to two years imprisonment,” said Ogoti.

Gwendo had pleaded guilty to abuse of office charges on August 6 and chose to enter into a plea bargain on repaying the money in four installments of Sh432,930 after mitigating that she was remorseful for committing the offence.

This was after admitting to have issued a cheque of Sh300,000 in favour of Kisumu East Cotton Growers Cooperative Society through CFC Stanbic Kivuli’s development initiative account signed by Willy Kipkorir Bett, an account that had no funds to clear the cheque.

She also admitted to have issued another cheque worth Sh950,000.

The trial court slapped the two year sentence without the option of a fine on the grounds that it had considered her mitigation.

An abuse of office charge also stated that she used her position as a state official to confer a benefit of Sh2 million. “On October 23, 2016 at Chiga Parish in Kisumu East within Kisumu County, she used her position as a State officer to confer herself Sh2,226,800 the property of Kisumu East Cotton Growers Cooperative Society through Kivali Development Initiative,” the charge sheet read.