A Star editor yesterday testified in a case in which a former employee of the company is accused of forging his signature and stealing more than Sh1.6 million.
Opinion editor Wycliffe Muga told Kibera senior resident magistrate Faith Mutuku that at the time of the offence, he was the Weekend Star editor and Faith Njuguna was his editorial assistant.
She was tasked with verifying contributors' invoices for payment.
Muga said in February 2013 an accounts officer informed him about forged invoices which Njuguna had allegedly falsified.
It said he discovered several invoices that were forged had been taken to the accounts department and payments made.
Muga said the signatures on the invoices had been forged to resemble his own and none of the names on them were of the Star contributors.
"The names in the forged invoices were all unfamiliar to me and I also realised they were unprocedural because they didn't pass through me," he said.
Muga said at the time of the offence, 99 per cent of the contributors used their real names. Only one contributor had been authorised by the
management to use a pseudo name .
He told the court he was the only one from the Weekend desk who had authorisation to sign the invoices. In his absence, the chief editor would sign on his behalf.
Muga said when he realized the forgery and fraud, he reported the matter to Managing Director William Pike.
He said the company hired a private investigator, who told him in person that other fake invoices had been discovered.
Muga also submitted his signature specimen for analysis by the government examiner. The prosecutor produced the report as exhibit in court. Wambui has been charged with 44 counts of forgery, uttering false documents and one count of attempting to steal.
It is alleged on July 30, 2012, Njuguna forged a signature for a Sh60,000 invoice purporting it to be signed by Muga.
Pike was in court yesterday but he did not testify because the case was adjourned after the defence counsel said he had a matter at the High Court. Earlier in the day, the lawyer said he had not been issued with Pike's statement and opposed his taking to the stand.
The case was adjourned to November 4.