Two lecturers were sentenced to serve each in a Nairobi court for operating an institution and admitting students for training with a view to qualifying them in medical laboratory services without being approved to admit or offer the course.
Roseline Oketch Akeyo who was the director and Olet Joshua the principle of Regional Institute of Business Management which was located at Ufundi Cooperative house in Nairobi Central Business District within Nairobi county were convicted earlier with the offence of operation without licence of approval.
The court heard that the offence took place on October 5th 2018 at the institution which was located at Ufundi Cooperative house in Nairobi where they were found admitting and conducting a training namely medical laboratory sciences without approval from the Kenya Medical Laboratory Technicians and Technologists Board (KMLTTB).
During the sentencing the presiding magistrate Bernard Ochoi indicated that the duo admitted and trained students with a view to qualifying them in medical laboratory sciences course without approval by (KMLTTB) where the students deemed to have qualified could not get licence of operation from the board for not meeting the necessary requirements,
“The students who said to be qualified went seeking the licence of operation from (KMLTTB) and failed for not meeting the necessary qualifications requirements and skills to become a medical laboratory sciences professionals,” read in his judgement.
In order the institution to admit and train students in the said medical course, it must be registered and approved by KMLTTB while the students must have attained certain grades in their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams to qualify.
The institution is also supposed to have adequate facilities and learning materials verified and approved by the board and in this case the institution lack the same.
They were charged alongside Eric Gisege and Calvin Omondi who were the teaching staffs in the institution and acquitted by the court.
Eric and Calvin were charged with practicing as laboratory technicians without valid practicing license from the Medical Laboratory Technicians and Technologists Board .
In their acquittal the magistrate cited that the duo were just employees in the institution and we’re not entitled to the profit acquired by the institution,
“The court has acquitted the third and fourth accused persons who were lecturers in the institution which was operating illegally, and in consideration they were just employees and we’re not entitled to the profit acquired,” read the magistrate.
In Mitigation through their lawyer, she urged the court to consider them being first time offenders, their age and the time they have spent in custody regardless having children.
She further requested the court for leniency in giving the sentence considering the institution is no longer in operation and they don’t have a job to rely on.
In his sentence magistrate Ochoi considered the mitigations and ordered them to pay a fine of Sh 400,000 and failure to that face six months in jail.
