An accountant with the Kitale Catholic Diocese has been charged with stealing more than Sh46 million from the church.
However, Jacob Nasongo Nalada, 40, pleaded not guilty when he appeared before Kitale Chief Magistrate Julius Ng’arng’ar on Friday .
Nalada is accused of stealing Sh46,872,774 between November 1, 2014 and July 31, 2021 at a bank in Kitale, Trans Nzoia County.
Additionally he also faces a second count of theft by servant.
Nalada was remanded at the Kitale GK prison after failing to raise Sh1 million cash bail or a bond of Sh5 million with a surety of the same amount.
During the proceedings,Kitale Catholic Diocese Bishop Maurice Crowley told the court that the accused had at one time told him that he was unable to report for duty because he had allegedly suffered a heart attack.
“I later on received information that he was in a bank in Kitale town, which raised suspicion,” he said.
Bishop Crowley said he hired an audit firm to review the diocese’s books of account.
The firm found that Nalada had transferred money amounting to Sh46,872,774 from four diocese accounts between November 1, 2014 and July 31, 2021.
The 500,000 euros (Sh59,189,235) in one church account was a donation meant to fund chaplaincy services in hospitals such as Kiminini Cottage Hospital, charitable work and other projects.
Only 57 euros (Sh6,747.57) was left in the account.
He was arrested in Nairobi by Directorate of Criminal Investigations detectives from Kitale and Nairobi .
Nalada was an accountant at the Kitale Catholic Diocese for 11 years.
The matter will be heard on November 17.
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