Three members of the same family have been convicted by a Kisumu court over a fraudulent scheme involving Sh113.2 million belonging to Such Enterprises Limited, a company based in Kisumu.
Senior Principal Magistrate Fatuma Rashid found Christopher Joseph Okal, Grace Minayo Okal and Victor Anyumba guilty on all six counts brought against them by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
The court scheduled sentencing for October 29, 2026.
The prosecution, led by Principal Prosecution Counsel Douglas Moseti, presented evidence showing how the three allegedly participated in the diversion of customer payments and wholesale goods worth Sh113,227,529 between October 2020 and July 2021.
Christopher Okal, who worked as an accountant at Such Enterprises Limited, faced additional charges of stealing by servant, fraudulent false accounting and stealing under the Penal Code.
The three were also charged with conspiracy to commit a felony, money laundering and acquisition and possession of proceeds of crime under the Penal Code and the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act.
During the trial, the prosecution called witnesses drawn from the company's workforce, customers, banking institutions, forensic examination teams and investigating agencies to demonstrate how the alleged fraud was executed.
The court heard that Okal allegedly abused his position as an accountant by manipulating the company's accounting system, creating fictitious transactions and diverting customer payments into bank and mobile money accounts linked to his co-accused.
Forensic document examination evidence presented by the prosecution showed that company records had been altered to conceal the transactions. An audit report also identified Sh113,227,529 that could not be accounted for.
Investigators further established that some customers had been instructed to deposit payments for goods into accounts associated with the accused rather than the company's official accounts.
The prosecution argued that Okal orchestrated the scheme by using accounts belonging to Grace Okal and Anyumba to receive diverted sales proceeds, making it difficult to trace the money.
The court rejected the defence's argument that the transactions were legitimate business arrangements, finding that the evidence demonstrated a coordinated scheme involving the diversion of company funds and concealment of the proceeds.
Magistrate Rashid also found Grace Okal and Anyumba guilty of participating in the theft and money-laundering activities linked to the diverted payments.
After weighing the prosecution evidence against the defence presented by the accused, the court ruled that the prosecution had proved all six counts beyond reasonable doubt.
The three were consequently convicted under Section 215 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
They are expected to return to court on October 29 for sentencing, when the court will determine the penalties to be imposed for the offences.
