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.