A night of celebration turned into a costly lesson for Qurine Omondi Muteshi, a Nairobi man who has been sentenced to two months in jail or a fine of Ksh 30,000 after failing to settle a Ksh 32,760 hotel bill following a night of enjoyment at Vibanda Village in Upper Hill.
The incident, saw Omondi charged with obtaining credit by false pretenses before Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina at the Milimani Law Courts. According to the prosecution, Omondi entered the restaurant, ordered rounds of food, alcohol, and water for himself and a group of friends, but later left without paying the bill.
In his defense, Omondi admitted to the offense, attributing his lapse in judgment to excessive celebration and intoxication.
“I had some money, so I called my friends to celebrate. During the celebration, I became so high and was surrounded by many ladies, each asking for drinks. Eventually, people disappeared, and I was left alone with the bill,” Omondi told the court.
He further claimed that he later noticed suspicious deductions from his account and was unsure how the total amount had accumulated.
“This is my fourth year in Nairobi, but I am still not conversant with all the corners,” he said. “The court can punish me, but please allow me to pay the bill. Some of us are just suffering because we are new in Nairobi.”
Omondi also revealed that he previously worked at Liverpool VCT but lost his job last year due to funding cuts, a setback he said worsened his financial situation.
Chief Magistrate Onyina, however, ruled that failure to pay for services rendered amounted to a criminal offense under Kenyan law.
“Those who obtain services must honor their financial obligations. Failing to pay constitutes an offense that this court cannot overlook,” Onyina stated while delivering the sentence.
Omondi was consequently sentenced to serve two months in jail or pay a fine of Ksh 30,000.
