A Nairobi court has exposed the operations of a SIM swap fraud ring after one of its members admitted to orchestrating a scheme that duped members of the public using the phone number of former Central OCS, Samson Talaam.
Dennis Masavi Musyimi pleaded guilty to three counts of fraudulently replacing Talaam’s number and using it to solicit cash. At the time, Talaam’s phone was in the custody of the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA), which was investigating him over the death of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang in a police cell.
Musyimi confessed to impersonating Talaam to procure the SIM replacement, which he later used to swindle unsuspecting members of the public between June 16 and June 19 this year.
He was charged alongside Amos Nzomo Kimanzi and James Mutemi Munyithya, who denied the allegations and opted for a full trial. The three jointly faced a count of computer fraud under Section 26(1) of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, accused of conspiring to commit the offence.
In addition, Munyithya faced a separate charge of unlawfully using another person’s identity card, while investigators linked him to the fraudulent SIM swap. Kimanzi was accused of knowingly allowing his identity card to be used in the scheme, in violation of the Registration of Persons Act.
Musyimi also faced an additional charge of obtaining registration by false pretence under Section 320 of the Penal Code after impersonating an individual identified as Kiprotich to execute the fraud.
Prosecutors told the court that the three were part of a wider syndicate involved in SIM swap fraud and identity theft. Investigations are ongoing to track down other accomplices believed to be on the run.
The court will hear Musyimi’s facts for sentencing on Wednesday, while Kimanzi and Munyithya proceed to pre-trial directions following their pleas of not guilty.
