A woman who allegedly defrauded a city businessman of Sh370,000 with a promise to help him secure a contract with the Ministry of Mining has been charged with obtaining the money by false pretenses contrary to section 313 of the penal code.
Linda Onyancha is accused of obtaining the money from Stephen Muchiri by pretending she was in a position to secure him a tender for construction of a perimeter wall at the ministry’s offices in Industrial Area in Nairobi knowing the same was false.
Ms Onyancha is said to have defrauded Mr Muchiri in Landi Mawe area in Makadara Sub County within Nairobi on diverse dates between April 29 and May 5, 2023.
When they met, the accused allegedly tabled documents showing the tender had been approved by senior officials of the ministry, including those in charge of maintenance.
The next day, Ms Onyancha called Mr Muchiri and allegedly told him that more money was needed to fast track the tender process and the complainant requested to meet her at a bank within Nairobi Central Business District where he gave her the money.
In the days that followed, the accused person allegedly went on asking for more money from the complainant claiming they were needed to bribe officials in charge of the tendering process. The complainant ended up sending Sh370,000 in total.
Ms Onyancha told Mr Muchiri that the tender would be completed in a week’s time but at the lapse of the period, Ms Onyancha stopped receiving his calls.
Having noticed that he had been defrauded, Mr Muchiri reported the matter at the Industrial Area Police Station and the suspect was subsequently arrested.
The accused denied the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Hellen Okwani of the Makadara Law Courts and was granted a bond of Sh150,000 and an alternative cash bail of a similar amount. The case will be mentioned on September 7, 2023 before hearing starts on December 5, 2023.
