A university student who allegedly posed as ICT Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo to defraud unsuspecting members of the public has been charged with impersonation.
Carlos Dickens Otieno was also charged with handling stolen property after police found him with a mobile phone he could not account for.
It was CS Owalo who reported to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) that someone was impersonating him on social media.
The impersonator would then lure his victims with the promise of jobs in the government on condition that they make payments first to secure slots.
The suspect was using Owalo’s images on his numerous social media accounts and was using two mobile phone numbers to receive money from his victims.
DCI’s Criminal Research and Intelligence Bureau (Crib) traced Otieno to his home in Tassia, Embakasi, Nairobi, and arrested him.
Appearing before Makadara principal magistrate Hellen Okwani. the student denied the charges and pleaded for lenient bail and bond terms.
Through his lawyer, Carlos Dickens Otieno sought orders to have the DCI return his car, a mobile phone and a title deed, among other documents they confiscated from him.
Magistrate Okwani released the accused on a bond of Sh100,000 and an alternative cash bail of a similar amount.
The case will be mentioned on February 17 when the DCI will respond to the accused person’s claims.
The hearing of the case will begin on August 21, 2023.
