Cynthia Cherop, a student at the Moi University, when she appeared in court to answer to charges of stealing Sh70,000 from her mother’s two accounts. PHOTO | RICHARD MUNGUTI/ NAIROBI NEWS
A female university student in Kenya has pleaded guilty to stealing money from her mother to spend with her boyfriend.
Cynthia Cherop, a student at the Moi University, had been accused of stealing KSh70,000 (about Ushs2.5million) from her mother’s two accounts at the Barclays and National banks before spending it with Josephat Ng’ang’a. She pleaded guilty to the charge but said she was a first offender.
The student, in defense, told the court that she bought second hand (mitumba) clothes for her business.
CCTV footage of the Barclays Bank captured Ng’ang’a and Ms Cherop withdrawing the money.
Ng’ang’a was also charged with creating disturbance by threatening to beat up Cherop’s mother, Milka Chebosisi Sitati, on June 5 this year.
He denied the charge and was released on a cash bail of KSh30,000.
Pleaded guilty
Cherop’s mother pleaded with the court to jail her daughter after she pleaded guilty.
Chief magistrate Francis Andayi said it was unfortunate that the accused stole the money to spend with her boyfriend whom her mother did not approve of.
However, two of Ms Sitati’s brothers pleaded with the court to release Cherop to them since her mother did not want to see her. They said they wanted her to continue attending college.
Stunned, the magistrate asked Cherop: “What have you done to your mother for her to hate you this much?”
State prosecutor Solomon Naulikha asked the court to treat the accused as a first offender and was not opposed to her being ordered to serve probation term.
The magistrate directed that a probation report be brought in court on August 2 to enable her go back to college.
