American Narrates to Nairobi Court How He was Conned Sh29 Million by Fake DCI Officers

A US national on Thursday narrated to a Nairobi court how he was conned of Sh29 million by people who posed as officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

Appearing before Kibera principal magistrate Charles Mwaniki, Ali Raza said the suspects had promised to sell him 11.6kgs of gold.

They later asked him for cash to bribe a judge, court clerk, court storekeeper, and officers from the Mining ministry, claiming that the gold consignment had been seized by authorities.

“They told me that the consignment had been found and had been taken to the High Court for the judge to authorize the release. They asked for some facilitation fee for the court process and this included bribes for the judge, court clerk, the storekeeper, and some officials from the Ministry of Mining. I gave them $11,000,” he said.

Raza told the court that a man who posed as DCI deputy director later informed him that the judge declined to release the gold on the ground that it originated from DRC Congo.

The officer claimed he needed to travel to DRC to obtain documentation from the relevant ministry in Kinshasa showing the source for the gold.

“They asked me for money to facilitate their travel to Congo Kinshasa. They wanted me to fuel their vehicle, pay for accommodation and facilitate some miscellaneous expenses and fees. I gave them some 9,000 dollars and they returned with some documentations,” he narrated.

The suspects later took him to a police station in Parklands, with one of them posing as the official driver of DCI head George Kinoti.

“I was taken to Parklands police station and asked about the Liberians but I knew nothing about them. After two days the driver came to my residence with another woman identified as Sharon whom they informed me was an investigator from the DCI,” Raza told the court.

He said before they conned him they had informed him of 11.6kg gold, which was to be sold once the DCI got the court order.

He was later asked to pay $10,000 and they promised to bring the gold the following day.

“The following day they brought a box which had some items in it. They instructed me not to open until the director DCI authorized me to do so. They said they could come the following day so that we get the judge's authorization,” he said.

Having lost patience, Raza opened the box, tested the said gold items, and found out that they were fake.

“I called them and informed them and they told me that they had made a mistake and brought the wrong box. They came and took it back,” he testified.

One of the suspects later told him that the deputy DCI had directed that the gold should not be released until some storage fees was paid and he paid another 3,500 dollars.

Four suspects, Arthur Caleb Otieno Agutu, alias George Kinoti; George Kinuthia Mbugua, alias Francis Ndegwa; Eric Otieno Odinya; and Antony Ochieng Ngeso were charged at Kibera court for defrauding the foreigner.

The case will continue next month.