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Crime

Kisii ‘bishop’ accused of scamming US visa aspirants out of Sh1.4m

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A man is being held by Kisii police after it was claimed that he conned about Sh1.5 million out of those seeking US visas.

Following complaints from dozens of his followers about the con, the man, who represents himself as the bishop of the Pentecostal Evangelistic Fellowship of Africa (PEFA) church, was apprehended.

Samson Obonyo was detained on suspicion of receiving money under false pretenses, according to Charles Kases, the chief of police in Kisii.

Police said Obonyo told unsuspecting young men and women that he had networks at the US embassy and could secure visas for them.

“Victims say he told them they had to pay a fee to ‘facilitate’ their visa. He got Sh1,480,000 from unsuspecting youths who were eager to be employed in America.”

According to Mr Kases , 20 people had filed police complaints against Obonyo.

The police boss further said: “After collecting the money from the victims, the suspect went underground. He was arrested in the sprawling Jogoo estate following a tip-off.”

According to Sophia Gesare, the bishop declared in the church in 2019 that there were opportunities for young people in the region to move to the US for employment.

“I am a member of Pefa church in Itibo. The bishop announced in the church that there are opportunities for people to go to the US. In 2020, the plans were suspended ostensibly because of the Covid pandemic, but after international travel resumed, the bishop disappeared with our money and passports,” Ms Gesare said.

Mrs Gesare said in a police statement that she collected Sh2 million and gave it to Obonyo to help her children.

“He told me to spread the word and get as many people as possible. He said he would give me land to raise the money,” she said.

Tiberius Mosoti, who asserted that he provided Obonyo Sh200,000 in exchange for the opportunity to visit the US, supported Ms. Gesare’s statements.

“After paying the money, the bishop asked us to meet him in Nairobi at the US embassy. We got a rude shock when we got there, he was nowhere to be seen. He did not pick our calls and we were stranded in the city before we returned home,” Mosoti said.

In her declaration, Ms. Gesare also claimed that the bishop instructed numerous young individuals who had given him money to get US visas to fly to Nairobi for medical checkups. The medical reports, according to Obonyo, were required for processing visas.

“When they arrived in Nairobi, they were taken to a lodge and later to a house where a quack doctor came and pretended to do medical examinations for the US Embassy,” Ms Gesare alleged.

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Crime

Nyeri teen arrested with homemade gun, bhang to be charged

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By Wanja Waweru

A 19-year-old guy was detained by police in Nyeri County after being discovered in possession of a handmade gun that could fire and marijuana.

The National Police Service (NPS) said in a statement that the young man was detained as a result of a tip from the general public.

“Police officers from Munyange Police Station arrested a 19-year-old suspect after he was found in possession of a home-made pistol, stones of cannabis sativa and rolls of the same. He has been remanded in police custody,” the statement read in part.

The NPS also expressed gratitude to the general public for helping to support community police in the battle against crime and illegal narcotics.

A police officer assigned to the General Service Unit (GSU) was also found in possession of a handmade pistol the day before the teen’s arrest.

A failed heist in Kasarani sub-county led to the arrest of Mr. Graham Ndichu Chege, a GSU officer.

On Monday, May 29, 2023, Nairobi News broke the exclusive that the suspect has been on police radar for more than four months.

Officers worried about an armed gang terrorizing people in Kasarani Sub-County knew when, not if, Mr. Chege would be apprehended.

The suspect was being questioned about more robberies that had occurred nearby, according to an investigator with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) who is aware of the current inquiries.

“Officers involved in the matter believe that he was the one leading a gang that has been giving the locals in this sub-county a hard time. Plans are also underway to arrest his accomplices,” said the officer, who spoke in confidence as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

According to a police report reviewed by this reporter, Mr. Paul Maina said that three individuals on motorcycles and carrying pistols robbed him at gunpoint of his cell phone at the Cooperative area along Kamiti Road.

“Police officers on foot patrol responded very quickly and with the help of bodaboda riders they chased the suspects to Juja Weighbridge where the suspect’s motorcycle developed mechanical problem and Mr Chege was arrested,” the report reads in part.

As a GSU officer assigned to the GSU Headquarters and Transit Section, Mr. Chege then revealed to the officers that he was to them.

When the police searched him, they discovered a makeshift pistol that they claimed might fire.

“A bloodstained broken knife and a motorcycle with registration number KMFH 031U, make Ranger Black, were recovered,” the police report added.

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Courts

City pastor accused of defrauding Kenyans in the USA of Sh6.8 million

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By Wanja Waweru

A city preacher has been accused with stealing Sh6.8 million from two sisters and their friend who lives in the USA while he pretended to be in a position to buy them land in Nairobi.

Catherine Wairimu Ng’ang’a of the Githurai-based Arise and Healing and Deliverance Church was charged At the Milimani courts.

When she was prosecuted in front of senior main magistrate Zainab Abdul, she contested four counts of receiving money under false pretenses.

The lady pastor, 53, was charged with cheating Noel Njeri Ngure, Lilian Muthoni Ngure, and Anne Nyambura Njogu between February and September 2021 of a huge sum.

The magistrate was informed that Pastor Wairimu collected Sh4 million from Noel under the pretense that she could sell her a land of land number Mowlem/Nairobi Block 169/285, a fact she knew to be false.

The preacher was suspected of receiving the Sh4m on several times between February 1 and August 12 2021 when he was detained by authorities on May 28, 2023.

The preacher was accused of accepting Sh1,735,000 from Lilian Muthoni Ngure between March 12 and August 12, 2021, despite knowing that she was lying when she said she could sell her a piece of land with the address Mowlem/Nairobi Block 169/287.

According to the third count, she received a second trump of Sh900,000 from Lilian Muthoni Ngure on August 31 and September 24, 2021, pretending to sell to her three stalls at New Wakulima Kangundo Road Market.

The magistrate learned that the pastor was lying and that she was not in a position to do so.

The preacher was accused of defrauding Ann Nyambura Njogu of Sh253,200 in the fourth allegation against her. She had claimed to be in a position to sell Njogu a piece of land in Mowlem/Nairobi Block 169/286.

Pastor Wairimu requested release on bail, pledging to follow the judge’s orders.

Her release on bond was not opposed by the prosecution.

She was then freed by Ms. Abdul on a Sh500,000 cash bail with one contact person.

On June 12, 2023, her case will be brought up for pre-trial instructions.

Pastor Wairimu will then meet with her accusers at the hearing date that Ms. Abdul will establish.

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Crime

Police seize counterfeit beer in Murang’a, nab three

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Three women were allegedly found in possession of 83 crates of fake beer.

According to a National Police Service (NPS) statement, officers in Muranga cracked down on illegal brews in Marema village in coordination with the local government and the general population.

“The operation led to seizure of 83 crates of Santa King Ice believed to be a counterfeit alcohol, five crates without stickers, and arrest of three female suspects,” the statement read in part.

This happened just a day after two women were apprehended in connection with the seizure of fake booze in Kiambu County.

The two suspects, who have only been identified as Ms. Donatha and Ms. Grace, were detained, according to a statement from the National Police Service, during an operation on May 27, 2023, at the homestead of one Mr. Wanjohi.

“The multi-agency team conducted an operation in Gitaru area where they seized various items including rolls of Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) stamps, several boxes of suspected fake alcoholic drinks with different brand names, distilling machines and several empty boxes as well as bottle tops,” the NPS statement said.

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