Three United Millers directors get two years non-custodial sentences 

A Nairobi court has given three directors of Kisumu United Millers non-custodial sentences to enable them be rehabilitated by probation department over Sh79.4 million sugar deal fraud. 

Sunil Narshi Shah, Kamal Narshi Punja Shah and Magnesh Kumar Verma will be put on probation for two years each. 

While delivering the sentence, Chief Magistrate Roseline Oganyo said that she considered the ages of the accused plus submissions by defense lawyers. 

“Although Sunil, 69, Punja, 62, Kavita, 67 and Verma, 45 were convicted for conspiracy to defraud B N Kotecha & Sons of Sh79.4 million, they deserve to be given a second chance in life to correct themselves,” she said. 

According to the magistrate, she had studied the probation report presented by Peter Macharia and his recommendations were that a custodial sentence would be too punitive given their advanced ages. 

She ordered them to comply with the conditions given by the probation department. 

The case was fixed for mention in three months’ time for the court to establish whether the convicts have compensated Kotecha. 

“In the event they will not have paid Kotecha, the probation term will be called back and fresh directions given,” Oganyo said. 

The three directors are accused of conspiring with intent to defraud B N Kotecha and Sons Limited Sh79.4 million in sugar business on April 2, 2015 at an unknown place within the Republic of Kenya. 

Also charged against the three Onunga directors is the company’s general manager Henry Kavita who pleaded to the charges in late April and was released on bail pending the hearing and determination of the case. 

The four allegedly pretended they had lost business as United Millers Limited to their clients by failure to supply sugar. 

Kavita is separately charged with forging a local purchase order for Alysam Stores on April 5, 2015 purporting to be genuine. 

In the case, United Millers directors were sued – B N Kotecha & Sons, Hemal Kishor Kotecha and Harshil Kishore Kotecha. 

The four allegedly pretended they had lost business as United Millers Limited to their clients by failure to supply sugar. 

They were also charged with defeating the course of justice by filing a case at the High Court in Kisumu allegedly using falsified documents.