A woman who disappeared in thin air in April 2022 after being sentenced to five years in jail after being convicted in absentia was today sentenced to two extra years for court contempt.
Claire Marisiana Odimwah was convicted of defrauding Thomas Aul Ewald Ksh 4.9 million by falsely pretending that he was taking a sick relative for medication in India and requesting financial assistance.
The said fraud is said to have taken place in 2018 in Nairobi County.
According to the complainant who is a German citizen, Claire approached him in 2018 and told him that she was in dire need of Ksh 5 million to take her sick child to India.
The complainant gave her the money and she disappeared never to be traced. He later learnt that he had been conned and reported the matter to the police.
The accused woman was arrested and arraigned in Court. She however disappeared after she was granted bail and the case proceeded to its conclusion in her absentia.
She was sentenced and the court directed police to track her and take her to prison upon arrest.
She appeared to court today after arrest where she the Magistrate whether it was practical to sentence her without listening to her side of the story.
She was however informed that the law permits the magistrate to sentence her in absentia if she chooses to abscond court proceedings.
