Former National Social Security Fund (NSSF) investment manager Francis Moturi has been sentenced to 14 years in prison after he was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud taxpayers billions of shillings.
Moturi had been accused alongside three stockbrokers and were found guilty for the loss of Ksh1.6 billion of funds in the NSSF.
Chief Magistrate Lawrence Mugambi, in his sentencing on Monday, January 31, gave the former investment boss an option of paying Ksh2.6 billion fine in lieu of the jail term.
During the hearing, the prosecution stated that Moturi claimed to have bought shares using the funds as NSSF was looking to make investments at the time.
It was revealed that there were discrepancies in the number of shares that Moturi claimed to have bought after investigators looked at the Nairobi Securities Exchange reference numbers and compared them with information at the Central Depository and Settlement Corporation.
Upon investigations, it was discovered that there was no investment that was made and the money had been misappropriated.
The three charged alongside Moturi are former employees of Discount Securities Ltd (DSL) and were accused of colluding with the former NSSF boss in the events which took place in August 2004 and July 2007.
During the hearing, the court determined that Isack Nyakundi, Wilfred Munyoro, and David Githaiga misled NSSF through the information that the social security agency was receiving over the investments.
“Although accused were not directors of DSL, they held managerial positions that resulted to the loss of funds. Their actions were calculated. They aided the fraudulent acquisition of Ksh1.2 billion shares,” the court stated then.
Consequently, the former DSL employees were also directed to pay a fine of Ksh803 million or serve a jail term of 12 years.
Additionally, Mugambi issued orders preventing the four from seeking any elective office or being appointed to any public office for the next four years.
Apart from conspiracy to commit fraud, Moturi had been charged with fraudulently making payment from public revenue, and failing to procedurally follow guidelines in the procurement of property.
