By Joseph Ndunda | 17 Feb 2024
The suspect denied the charges and was released on a bond of Sh500,000 and an alternative cash bail of Sh200,000.
A fraud suspect who allegedly conned Mandera residents of different amounts of money while impersonating the County Woman Rep Sheikh Umulkheir Kassim on Facebook has been charged with obtaining money by false pretence.
Evans Kirimi is charged with publication of false information contrary to section 22 (1) of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act of 2018 where he is accused of posting false information after creating an account using Umulkheir’s name and photos.
He is accused of posting words announcing that youth funds, women’s funds, grants and men’s business funds for the 2023-2024 financial year were available while asking those interested in financial aid to contact him.
In a similar charge, Kirimi is accused of publishing false information indicating that Umulkheir was partnering with a motorcycle dealer to give out 200 motorbikes to the county residents to create jobs and ease transport.
He is said to have published the misleading information on November 30, 2023.
The accused person was allegedly asking the residents to send him their national identity cards and phone numbers.
The state prosecution’s offices accused Kirimi of posting this information knowing the same to be false and with the intent that the information shall be considered or acted upon as authentic.
The residents believed they were communicating with their woman rep on Facebook.
Kirimi is facing two additional charges of obtaining money by false pretence contrary to section 313 of the Penal Code where he is accused of defrauding Hussein Mohamed Adan and Mohamednoor Abdullahi Abdi of Sh10,850 and Sh5,000, respectively.
The suspect is said to have conned Abdi of the Sh5,000 on June 29, 2023, claiming the same was a facilitation fee for grants from the county government while pretending to be Umulkheir.
The accused person allegedly defrauded Adan of the money on January 16, 2024, purporting to be in a position to offer employment opportunities for his daughter, while claiming to be the woman rep, knowing the same was false.
Kirimi faces an additional charge of impersonation contrary to section 29 of the Computer Misuse and cyber-crimes Act of 2018.
In the charge, he is accused of fraudulently and dishonestly making use of unique identification features – images of Umulkheir – to operate a Facebook account in the legislator’s name.
In the category of business loans to the residents, Kirimi was asking for Sh7,000 in taxes to approve a grant of Sh100,000. The “taxes” vary in amount depending on the amount of grant sought.
The suspect denied the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Bernard Ochoi of the Milimani law courts.
He was released on a bond of Sh500,000 and an alternative cash bail of Sh200,000.
The case will be mentioned on February 29, 2024.