A clearing agent is facing two years imprisonment or pay Ksh 3 million as a fine after he was found guilty by the Anti-Corruption Court in Nairobi of soliciting a bribe and obtaining money on pretense.
Philip Mutua Kilonzo was convicted on two counts of requesting a bribe and one for obtaining money on pretense.
Principal magistrate Celesa Okore ordered Kilonzo to pay a fine of Ksh 1.5 million or serve two years in prison for demanding a Ksh 2.9 million bribe from officials of the United African Evangelical Ministry and Grace Children’s Home in October 2020.
The prosecution informed the court that Mutua reportedly intended to influence the writing off of alleged taxes due to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).
The court also sentenced him to another fine of Ksh 1.5 million for soliciting a Ksh 2.9 million bribe on several occasions between October 3 and October 8, 2020, from officials of the United African Evangelical Ministry.
Additionally, Kilonzo was fined Ksh 50,000 or face eight months in prison for obtaining Ksh 20,000 under pretenses.
The court heard that in October 2020, Mutua misled officials from the United African Evangelical Ministry into giving him Ksh 20,000, claiming it was for travel expenses from Busia to Nairobi.
This was allegedly for a meeting with KRA officials to resolve a tax dispute between KRA and Grace Children’s Home.
Okore ruled that Kilonzo should serve all sentences concurrently.
The sentencing of Kilonzo comes two months after sleuths from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) presented two Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) employees deployed as Customs Officers at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in court over bribery charges.
According to the EACC, Mutava Lawrence and Timothy Momanyi allegedly demanded a Ksh 120,000 bribe as a condition for releasing goods they had confiscated from a traveler.
The traveler declined to pay the fee and instead contacted the Commission.
