An elderly man is staring at a six-year jail term or a fine of over Ksh200,000 for confessing in court that he impersonated the late former Chairman of Karen hospital and successfully withdrew Ksh300,000 from ABSA bank Kenya.
Joseph Kamau Mungai alias James John Mugeria, 76, was charged at Milimani Law courts with four counts of personation, stealing and attempted stealing.
The old man admitted before Senior Resident Magistrate Ben Mark Ekhubi that he was impersonating the Karen Hospital Chairman who died on September 23, 2021.
Kamau is said to have planned to withdraw millions of shillings held in the accounts of the late chairman without the knowledge of his relatives and Absa Bank officials.
In count one, Kamau is accused that on July 8, 2022, at ABSA Bank Kenya PLC, Yaya Centre Branch in Nairobi County, with intent to defraud, he falsely represented himself as James John Mugeria chairman of Karen Hospital to Dan Mwaniki Maganda, a teller at the said branch.
"On July 8, 2022, at ABSA Bank Kenya PLC, Yaya Centre Branch in Nairobi County within the Republic of Kenya, Kamau stole Sh300,002 the property of the said ASBA Bank," reads the charge sheet in count two
The elderly man also admitted in court that on July 12, 2022, while claiming to be Mugeria attempted to steal another Ksh700,002 from the said bank
The prosecution claims that Kamau was arrested in the mid-morning hours on Tuesday this week at the bank premises for attempting to make the second fraudulent withdrawal of Ksh O.7 million by impersonating the account owner.
"It is upon visiting the banking fraud unit, our officers established that the accused had withdrawn Ksh300,000 from the said bank account which had been flagged and marked 'deceased' in the bank's system on July 8, 2022, and was attempting to make a further Ksh700,000," the prosecution says.
Kamau was ordered to be detained at Industrial Area Remand Prison awaiting mitigation and sentencing by the court next week.
Under the Penal Code, an offender convicted of the offences of stealing and impersonating is liable upon conviction, to a sentence of three years imprisonment or a fine of Sh 200,000 or both for each offence.
