A man posing as a doctor, who allegedly scammed a kidney patient out of Sh1,781,000, was last week charged at the Makadara Law Courts.
Stanley Maina Macharia was charged with obtaining money from Daniel Mwangiru Karichu on various dates between July and August this year. He allegedly claimed that he could arrange for Karichu’s kidney transplant trip, despite being aware that this information was untrue.
Macharia is accused of defrauding Karichu while impersonating a medical doctor, which led to a charge of impersonation as per Section 382 of the Penal Code. This charge alleges that he knowingly pretended to be a medical doctor with the intention of defrauding the complainant.
Additionally, the suspect faces two charges of forgery, in violation of Section 345 of the Criminal Procedure Code. These charges assert that he forged an affidavit of consent, falsely representing it as genuine documents submitted by both Karichu and his kidney donor.
Karichu, who has been grappling with kidney disease for over 15 years, had been advised to undergo a kidney transplant. He was directed to Macharia, who claimed that he was a doctor with influential connections in India.
The accused provided a list of various documents that Karichu would require for his medical trip.
Karichu was informed that he needed to deposit US$26,500(approx Ksh3, 830,000). Subsequently, he was asked to make an additional payment of US$15,500(Ksh2, 240,400).
Karichu began transferring funds to an account provided by Macharia, continuing until he had paid the full amount.
However, the court heard that Macharia then began demanding additional payments for expenses that were not initially disclosed to Karichu during their discussions about the treatment cost.
Karichu requested that the suspect provide him with some of the documents he had paid for. He received travel documents but upon visiting the Indian Embassy in Nairobi, Karichu discovered that the documents were counterfeit.
The patient reported the incident to the DCI offices in Kasarani. Subsequent investigations revealed that Macharia was not a licensed medical doctor.
The suspect was arrested at Thika Road Mall, where he had arranged to meet the complainant.
Appearing before Senior Principal Magistrate Hellen Okwany of the Makadara Law Courts, Stanley Maina Macharia denied the charges.
He sought lenient bail conditions but Sergeant Marwa submitted an affidavit contesting the bail and bail conditions. He informed the court that Macharia was arrested in the act of defrauding another victim.
The detective also noted that the suspect was uncooperative throughout the investigation process and declined to reveal his place of residence, which raised concerns about him being a potential flight risk.
The court remanded the accused for a week awaiting a ruling on his bail application
