Two househelps were on Monday, May 10, charged with stealing Sh32.7 million from their employer’s house in Karen.
Theft of Sh32.7 million cash lands househelps in court [Video]
The two were accused of stealing Sh32.7 million in hard cash from their employer's house.
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Ruth Kageha and Violet Aluse are alleged to have made away with three golden rings and a black bag reportedly containing $280,000, amounting to Sh32.7 million.
The duo allegedly committed the crime between April 15 and April 21 at Tipuwama Apartments in Karen.
Out of the colossal sum, only Sh3 million was recovered, Senior Principal Magistrate Bernard Ochoi was told by State Prosecutor James Machira.
Machira told the court that the suspects were arrested in Bungoma and Nairobi counties, after a seven-day search.
The two suspects pleaded not guilty and were released on a Sh5 million cash bail each.
In March, Caroline Nabwire, a house help who worked in Parklands, Nairobi, was arraigned in court over the theft of jewellery worth Sh573,411 from her employer Ventrapragada Nikhil.
Nabwire pleaded guilty to the charges of stealing the jewellery between January 31 and February 28, 2022.
She told the court that she sold the stolen jewellery at throwaway prices to agents in Nairobi.
In a bid to cover her tracks, it would later be discovered that Caroline had replaced some of the items with counterfeit pieces.
Procedure for firing rogue house helps
It is illegal to just wake up one day and dismiss your house help without giving them a one-month notice of termination of their employment.
This followed an Employment and Labour Relations ruling by Justice Nduma Nderi, in a suit where a house help challenged the termination of her employment after asking for a salary increment.
Moreen Muhani had sued her employer Namuben Manji Bhinji for ending her contract without cause. She won the case and was granted damages worth Sh270,964 for the unfair termination of her contract.
Muhani claimed that she was employed by Bhinji as a house girl in February 2015 with a monthly salary of Ksh3,000. Two years later, she approached her employer on December 30, 2016, and requested a salary increment but Bhinji got annoyed, terminated the contract and sent her away the next day.
According to the judge, the law requires that an employer give notice to a house help prior to terminating their contract, and includes paying them terminal benefits and giving them a certificate of service.
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