Have you ever experienced a situation where you received money through mobile services like M-Pesa or Airtel money by mistake? Alternatively, have you ever mistakenly sent money to the wrong recipient?
In a recent legal case, Stephen Gioko Mwangi found himself entangled in a legal predicament after he unexpectedly received a substantial sum of Sh140,000 in his mobile account, which had been sent to him in error.
Rather than returning the funds, Mwangi decided to utilize the money, a choice that led to his subsequent arrest and the imposition of charges related to theft and the withholding of funds that were delivered to him mistakenly.
Following a trial, Mwangi was found guilty of the aforementioned offenses.
The court passed a sentence requiring him to pay a fine of Sh140,000, with the alternative being a two-year prison term for the charge of theft. Additionally, he was ordered to pay Sh50,000 or face six months in prison for the act of withholding the erroneously delivered funds.
Dissatisfied with the court’s decision, Mwangi sought a revision of his sentence at the Milimani High Court.
In his appeal, he argued that the imposed fine was unduly harsh and requested a more lenient sentence, preferably one that did not involve incarceration.
Nonetheless, Judge Kanyi Kimondo, presiding over the case, upheld the original verdict.
He emphasized that Mwangi’s decision to use the mistakenly received funds, instead of returning them, undermined his claim that the fine was excessive.
“The punishment was also well within the bounds of the law. Thus, I decline to alter it,” as stated in the court documents.
The judge further pointed out that despite being a first-time offender, Mwangi’s actions warranted a punitive sentence aimed at deterring such behavior.
In the ruling delivered on October 19, 2023, Judge Kanyi dismissed Mwangi’s appeal and instructed that the decision be conveyed to both Mwangi and the Director of Public Prosecutions.
