An accountant in Apac district has been sent to six years in jail for corruption.
The Apac grade one magistrate’s court heard on Thursday, that Bob Odongo, a former Sub County accountant of Ayer Sub County, IN Apac district embezzled more than one million shillings meant for the NAADS programs.
Court presided over by the grade one magistrate Geoffrey Wubo also heard that Odongo also forged the signatures of of the sub-county chief and the Sub-County NAADS coordinator to withdraw money from the sub county account in Stanbic bank.
He allegedly committed the offence between February and May 2009.
The suspect however pleaded not guilty to the charges, shortly after the investigating officer, David Aleny produced evidence to show that the Odongo’s wife had paid up all the monies that his husband had allegedly embezzled.
But the grade one Magistrate quoted section 19 of the Anti Corruption act which partly states that "any employee in an office of government, public body or an organization who steals money, property or any valuables commits an offence of not exceeding 14 years in prison or a fine of shs 6,720,000 million shillings or both".
He accordingly ruled that the accused must either face six years in prison or pay a fine of six million shillings cash.
He also ruled that the accused has a right to appeal within 14 days.
The Resident State Attorney Andrew Gawaya asked court to give the convict a deterrent punishment to serve as a warning to other public officers from abusing public funds.
“Your worship the offence which the accused had committed was a capital offence and it is the duty of the court to pass a deterrent punishment served as warning to others” the prosecutor advised.
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