A former employee of Sheffield Steels Systems Limited was arraigned in court on Tuesday, facing serious criminal charges for her alleged role in a sophisticated fraud that saw the company lose over 146 million Kenyan shillings.Jane Achieng Eshiwani Okumu was presented before Magistrate Lucas Onyina at the Milimani Law Courts, following her arrest.
The prosecution, proceeding with a case from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, levelled three distinct charges against Ms. Okumu, painting a picture of a long-running scheme that lasted for more than three years. The case centres on activities that allegedly took place between May 15, 2018, and August 25, 2021, at the company’s premises located off Mombasa Road in Nairobi.
The first charge is conspiracy to commit a felony, an offence under Section 393 of the Penal Code. The charge sheet states that within the specified period, Ms. Okumu “jointly with others not before court, conspired to commit a felony namely stealing.” The alleged target of this conspiracy was a staggering sum of Kshs 146,519,431.75, stated as the property of Sheffield Steels Systems Limited.
The second charge accuses her of stealing by servant, contrary to Section 281 of the Penal Code. This count specifies that by virtue of her senior position as the Financial Controller, a role of significant trust, Ms. Okumu allegedly stole Kshs 146,519,431.75. The money is alleged to have come into her possession by virtue of her employment at the company
Adding a layer of forgery to the financial accusations, a third charge was presented. The prosecution alleges that on March 5, 2021, Ms. Okumu committed the offence of making a document without authority, contrary to Section 357(a) of the Penal Code. The specific document is a formal letter dated March 5, 2021.
The charge sheet states that this letter was made “for and in the name of Dr. Suresh Kanotra,” the Managing Director of Sheffield Steels Systems, and was done with intent to deceive and without lawful authority.
Dr. Suresh Kanotra is named as the complainant in the case and is listed as the first witness for the prosecution. The court documents note that other witnesses will be introduced as the case progresses..
