Three Pan Africa Life Assurance company staff charged with theft

Ibrahim Odhiambo Ololo, Lamech Otieno Mcoten and Leah Kavuna Chiko at the Milimani Law Courts where they denied charges of faking death and stealing over Sh10m from Pan African Assurance Company

Three Pan Africa Life Assurance company employees were yesterday charged with stealing over Sh10 million through false pretence.

Appearing before Nairobi Senior Principal Magistrate Ellena Nderitu, the three: senior manager Lamech Otieno and insurance agents Ibrahim Ololo and Leah Chiko were accused of pretending that Consolidated Movers Insurance Brokers Ltd had reported a death claim of Sh5,262,540 in respect to a Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) official identified as Joseph Chisaka.

Prosecutor Isaiah Mwiranga told the court that the accused forged a death certificate, number 33325338, purporting to have been issued by the Kakamega district Civil Registrar GK Omondi confirming that Mr Chisaka had indeed passed on, on August 1, 2010.

Ms Chiko was further charged with false accounting; that on August 6, at the insurance company's premise in Nairobi, and being the business corporate manager, she altered a file to show that a fake bank account number belonging to KenGen existed, which was used to transfer the money to settle the claim of Mr Chisaka.

The three were also accused of stealing property worth Sh5,262,540 from the insurance company on August 6.

On another incident of forgery, the court was told that Otieno, Ololo and Chiko on August 8 this year, pretended that Liason Insurance Brokers Ltd had reported a death claim worth Sh4,681,560 in respect of Sammy Njema of Egerton University. The allegedly pocketed the money upon receiving it.

The accused were also accused of forging Mr Njema's death certificate, purporting it to be genuine and issued by the Kisii district Civil Registrar PB Onsarigo confirming that the university employee died on July 4, 2010.

Attempts by defence lawyer George Morara to stop the suspects from taking a plea were opposed by the prosecution. Morara said the charges had been drafted out of "malice" after they failed to appear fordisciplinary proceedings convened by their employer.

"The charges against the accused are malicious since they had pleaded similar charges," Mr Morara submitted.

The suspects had been re-arrested last week on Thursday soon after they had pleaded to other related charges in which they were accused of stealing Sh4 million from the company.