Kenyan Family Seeks Government Help Over Son’s Detention in UAE

A family from Kangoya in Kiambu County is calling on Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs to intervene in the prolonged detention of their son, James Kariuki Thiong’o, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

The 40-year-old has been held in connection with two separate fraud cases, despite ongoing claims of wrongful conviction and serious concerns about due process. Mr Kariuki first travelled to Dubai in 2012, where he worked for seven years as a security guard before returning to Kenya in 2019. 

In search of renewed opportunity, he went back to the UAE in February 2020. Shortly after his arrival, he was arrested and charged with electronic fraud involving AED 1.18 million (approximately Ksh41.7 million). According to his family, Mr Kariuki fell victim to a recruitment scam after handing over his identity documents to an individual posing as a recruiter, believed to be of Nigerian origin, who then disappeared.

Despite his denial of any wrongdoing and the absence of direct evidence, Mr Kariuki was convicted in September 2020 and sentenced to one year in prison with an order for deportation. However, while serving this sentence, he was implicated in a second fraud case involving AED 2 million (about Ksh70 million). 

Prosecutors alleged that he was part of a network that used fake email addresses to impersonate legitimate financial institutions, deceiving companies into transferring funds to fraudulent accounts. Mr Kariuki’s lawyer, Jumaa Maleh, has argued that his client could not have committed the second offence, as he was already in prison when the crime allegedly took place. 

Nonetheless, Mr Kariuki was convicted again, fined AED 2 million, and ordered to pay an additional nine percent annual interest—an amount his family says they have no means of paying. The acquittal of one of Mr Kariuki’s co-accused and claims of procedural irregularities form the basis of an ongoing appeal.

For Mr Kariuki’s parents, John Thiong’o and Esther Wambui, the ordeal has been devastating. "My family has no way of raising Sh81 million. Even selling everything or holding a harambee would not be enough," Mr Thiong’o said. 

The family is now pleading for diplomatic assistance to secure their son’s release and safe return to Kenya.