Pastor charged with defrauding employer Ksh 1.5M

A Meru-based pastor has been charged with fraud after he allegedly forged three Co-operative Bank Cheques to obtain Ksh 1.5 million from his former employer, Mt. Kenya East Farmers’ Co-operative Society.

Appearing before Nkubu Resident Magistrate, Caroline Indagwa, the New Apostolic Church, Bishop Justus Kibara Kirai was accused of defrauding his former employer where he worked as a secretary on diverse dates between January 15^th, 2015 and June 24th, 2015.

According to the charge sheet, Kibara changed the figures and the signatures so that the amount in the cheques could read otherwise. On the first account, the accused allegedly altered a Ksh 27, 600 cheque to read Ksh1,127, 600, a Ksh 23, 900 cheque to translate to Ksh 123,900 and another cheque of Ksh 20,000 to read Ksh 320, 000.

The court was also told that the cheques were issued to the bishop as his payment and signed by the co-operative society manager before the Bishop altered them.

Kibara, however, denied the charges and in his defense, told the magistrate that his employer had fixed the charges against him since he had on June 2015 forwarded a resignation letter with a three months’ notice.

The accused was released on Ksh 200,000 bond. The case will be mentioned on May 31^st while the hearing will be on September 19^th.

Report by Josiah Mugo