Woman charged with obtaining Sh1.85m in KDF recruitment fraud

Lucy Catherine Mutitu at the Kibera law courts.

Photo credit: Joseph Ndunda | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • Lucy Catherine Mutitu is accused of obtaining Sh850,000 from her husband’s cousin Thomas Ousuru Osoma between April 2019 and July.
  • She is also accused of obtaining Sh1,000,000 from Leonard Etyang Okemer and Salome Nthenya, who gave Sh500,000 each, under similar circumstances.
  • She faced three additional charges of impersonation for presenting herself as a KDF officer based in Garissa County while soliciting bribes.

A woman was charged on Monday with conning three people out of Sh1.85 million with the promise of helping them secure jobs at the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).

Lucy Catherine Mutitu is accused of obtaining Sh850,000 from her husband’s cousin Thomas Ousuru Osoma between April 2019 and July.

She is also accused of obtaining Sh1,000,000 from Leonard Etyang Okemer and Salome Nthenya, who gave Sh500,000 each, under similar circumstances.

Ms Nthenya believed she would help her sister Jacinta Mbinya find a job in the military.

The charges

Ms Mutitu was charged with obtaining money by false pretences at the Kibera Law Courts.

She faced three additional charges of impersonation for presenting herself as a KDF officer based in Garissa County while soliciting bribes.

The three people were defrauded while paying for medical tests ahead of admission into the KDF’s Recruits Training School, as well as guns and uniforms to be used during the training.

Mr Ousuru’s family is said to have sold land to get the Sh850,000, which he reportedly sent to Ms Mutitu via M-Pesa.

The accused denied the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Peter Mutua and was released on Sh1 million bond or Sh500,000.

The case will be heard on September 11.