The wife to the former Ugenya member of parliament Concelia Aoko Ondiek has been jailed for two and a half years for stealing public funds to the tune of 1.5 million Kenya shillings when she was serving as an official at the ministry of education.
Chief Magistrate Lawrence Mugambi jailed the former director of secondary and tertiary education without the option of paying a fine. According to the magistrate, Ms Concelia Aoko Ondiek was a repeat offender who did not deserve the leeway to part with a fine.
However, her co-accused Ms Christine Wegesa Chacha who was also a senior education officer was directed to pay a fine of one million Kenya shillings or else be equally jailed for one year.
That becomes the second time Ms Ondiek was charged with false accounting and forgery which saw her get sentenced almost ten years ago.
Ms Ondiek was set to be jailed for two years after being found guilty of conspiracy to steal 1.06 million that was allegedly meant for buying stationery for some workshop in 2009 at the coastal region.
Nevertheless, she appealed and the jail term was reduced to 18 months with the option of paying a fine of 1.1 million Kenya shillings. In the meantime, Ms Concelia Ondiek alongside former education ministry officials have another pending case before the anti-corruption court.
While being sentenced, the court found her guilty of false accounting and trying to pass the blame to a junior staff Ms Chacha which hit a dead end as the signatures that signed the documents did not match hers.
“This shows desperation that had engulfed the 1st accused who was hell-bent on covering her crime even if it meant fixing her junior with the entire burden,” ruled the magistrate.
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As a result, judge Mugambi found her guilty of pocketing 1.5 million shillings that was meant for facilitating principals during their needs assessment workshop in Mombasa.
