Two in court over Sh200k and forged TSC employment letter
Two fraud suspects who gave a High school teacher a fake appointment letter confirming she had been hired by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) have been charged.
Moses Olwanda and Lazarus Oyoo had allegedly given the teacher the said letter after her husband gave them Sh218,236 to facilitate her employment while claiming they were employees of the TSC working at the commission’s headquarters in Nairobi are facing four fraud-related charges.
The suspected fraudsters are charged with obtaining money by false pretenses contrary to section 313 of the Penal Code after allegedly conning the teacher’s husband Joshua Ochiel of Sh218, 236 while falsely pretending they were in a position to facilitate her employment with the teacher’s employer.
The two are facing three additional charges including conspiracy to defraud in contravention of section 393 of Penal Code, forgery in violation of the criminal procedure code, and making a document without authority.
The two are accused of forging an appointment letter for Ochiel’s wife purporting it to be a genuine letter issued by the TSC to the complainant’s wife.
The two fraud suspects were also charged with making a document without authority after allegedly making the letter.
They are accused of committing the offences jointly with others at large on diverse dates between January 10 and August 21, 2023 in Nairobi.
The teacher who graduated from a University with a Degree in Education in 2022 proceeded to the school with the said letter that directed her to report to the school’s principal within 10 days only to be told that she had not been posted there.
The letter which the police have recovered and listed as an exhibit in the case indicated that the teacher was to start work on a probation period of six months before she was permanently employed.
Olwanda and Oyoo are accused of conspiring with others to defraud Ochiel who is their close friend while promising to hire his wife. The duo allegedly colluded with others to commit the crimes.
Ochiel met Olwanda who was his neighbor in Kariobangi estate, Nairobi, and the accused person told him that he was in a position to secure employment for the complainant’s wife.
Olwanda introduced Oyoo to Ochiel and told the complainant that both worked for TSC, then allegedly demanded the money to facilitate the process and he started sending the money.
After the letter was proven to be fake, Ochiel’s wife returned to Nairobi and informed him.
The complainant contacted the suspects over the matter and they kept taking him in circles before they stopped picking up his calls. He reported the matter to the police and the two suspects were arrested.
They denied the charges before Principal Magistrate Caroline Mugo of the Makadara Law Courts.
They sought lenient bail and bond terms through lawyer Joyce Owino.
Ms Owino told the court that her clients had already paid the complainant a total of Sh100, 000 and there was an ongoing alternative dispute resolution.
They were released on a bond of Sh100,000 and an alternative cash bail of Sh70,000.
The case will be mentioned on December 11, 2023, before the hearing starts on April 17, 2024.
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