Former nominated Jubilee senator Joy Gwendo will not spend Christmas and New Year festivities in jail after a Nairobi court freed her on bail.
Ms Gwendo, who had been handed down a two-year jail term by the anti-graft court’s Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti on December 7, was released on a Sh400, 000 cash bail by the High Court.
Justice Ngenye Macharia allowed a plea by Ms Gwendo to be admitted to bail after she filed a conviction and sentence review application.
The judge was informed that the convict had settled the Sh1.7 million debt that saw her jailed.
The former nominated was sentenced to serve a two-year jail term after being found guilty of fraud and abuse of office.
‘HOODWINKED COURT’
Gwendo failed to honour a plea bargain she entered into with the state to settle a Sh1.7 million debt.
The former lawmaker had pleaded guilty to abuse of office charges on August 6, 2018 before Mr Ogoti.
“..It is noteworthy that she executed a plea bargaining agreement yet she was sure that she could not honour the same. She was hoodwinking the court and therefore lied,” Mr Ogoti said during his ruling last week.
The court said it found her dishonest and jailed her without the option of a fine for “hoodwinking the court.”
In mitigation, Ms Gwendo had told the court that she was remorseful and chose to enter into a plea bargain.
FRAUD
In January this year, the former nominated senator was accused of forging a Sh200,000 cheque drawn from a Kenya Commercial Bank account in favour of Kivuli Development Initiative and signed by Willy Kipkorir Bett.
The charge sheet stated that on October 23 2016 at Chiga Parish in Kisumu East within Kisumu County, Ms Gwendo used her position as a state officer to confer herself a benefit of Ksh.2,226,800 , the property of Kisumu East Cotton Growers Cooperative Society through Kivali Development Initiative.
The review application will be heard in January, 2019.
