Roselyn Nyamukuru Nyongesa (left) and Mary Nanjala at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi on September 8, 2026.

📋 Breaking It Down

Two farmers who withdrew and spent Sh33,952 erroneously sent to them via mobile money have narrowly escaped a 14-year jail term after a court in Nairobi accepted their pleas for leniency.

Mary Nanjala and Roselyn Namukuru Nyongesa, farmers hailing from Kakamega County, walked free after Co-operative Bank confirmed to the court that they had since paid back the money they stole.

They were facing a penalty of 14 years in jail or a fine of Sh5 million for charges of theft, money laundering and acquisition of proceeds of crime. They had pleaded guilty to three counts of receiving and withholding Sh33,952 and failing to return the cash to the sender: the CDC account of one Sila Omondi at Co-operative Bank.

📌 What You Need to Know

However, the two farmers later plea-bargained with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for a lesser penalty after they begged to be allowed to pay the money back.

When Co-operative Bank confirmed to the court that it had received the funds from Ms Nanjala and Ms Nyongesa, trial magistrate Carolyne Mugo discharged the two under Section 87(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) — a provision under which a person is not fully acquitted and could still be arrested and prosecuted for the same offence in future.

"They could be arrested in future and charged for the same offence," Ms Mugo warned.

Ms Nanjala and Ms Nyongesa had admitted receiving and using the money sent to their M-Pesa numbers.

Read:   How funds transfer left woman fighting to recover Sh500,000

They, however, pleaded for mercy, saying: "We have already paid back the money. Do not jail us, please. We are mothers and have little or no income due to the harsh economic times."

📰 Source: Nation Africa