A man filmed being forced into a private vehicle in Ongata Rongai was not abducted as initially believed but was arrested for alleged fraud.
The viral video showed the man resisting his handlers, who eventually pushed him into the car. The clip quickly went viral, triggering outrage on social media, with some questioning why bystanders failed to intervene in what appeared to be an abduction.
Authorities later clarified that the man, identified as Duke Maingi, was being arrested after attempting to defraud an M-Pesa outlet.
Police intercepted Maingi along Magadi Road in Ongata Rongai. He was attempting to defraud an M-Pesa agent before officers took him into custody. CCTV footage from the shop, located in Ongata Rongai town, captured Maingi entering the mobile money store disguised as a customer.
After engaging with the attendant, Maingi claimed to have connections with Safaricom agents. Suspicious of his behavior, the attendant alerted the public, who quickly gathered and cornered Maingi. They contacted the police, who arrived in plain clothes and made the arrest.
Elvis Muthoni, the M-Pesa agent, recalled the encounter: “Someone came in and told me he wanted to me speak with customer care from Safaricom. I picked up his phone, but it was just a random Safaricom number. Then an Airtel number kept calling him. As I listened, he asked for the agent number and other details, and that’s when I became suspicious.”
A preliminary investigation revealed that Maingi was part of a larger syndicate targeting M-Pesa agents across the country.
But Maingi denied the accusations, claiming that he was arrested and assaulted by police without justification.
“Someone sent me to any M-Pesa shop to connect him with an agent. I was then bundled into a car; I wondered what was happening. They handcuffed me, yet I had not committed any offence,” he said.
