How police officers con Kenyans money via Mpesa

Investigations have revealed that rogue officers are now forcing members of the public to withdraw cash from specified Mpesa agents and businessmen whose agent and till numbers are used.

“After forcing you to withdraw money, they delete the message,” a resident of Buruburu has told K24 Digital.

One of the cases under investigation is when officers based at Parklands police station assaulted a man in front of his wife at City Park and forced him to withdraw ksh2,000 from an Mpesa agent.

“Investigations revealed that the money was withdrawn from an Mpesa point near Parklands police station,” a senior detective said.

The officer said preliminary investigations had shown that some rogue officers were conducting arbitrary arrests just to extort from members of the public.

“I was forcefully removed from my car by officers from Buruburu police station. One of them, a female officer, took my phone and sent ksh4,000 to a certain number and they deleted the message,” said one of the complainants.

Several petrol station attendants have also been identified as those colluding with the rogue officers. A clerk who was arrested along Waiyaki Way was taken to a petrol station and told to buy fuel through the till number to earn his freedom.

“I ‘bought’ fuel for ksh2,000 but the attendant did not fuel the car. Your guess is as good as mine,” he said.

A similar case was reported in Donholm where officers arrested a man for flouting curfew regulations. They took him to a petrol station near Greenspan Mall and ordered to pay for fuel. He was then released.

“They do it unashamedly. Even the brutality meted on those arrested is baffling. Senior officers should come to our aid,” the resident said.

Another female complainant told K24 Digital that she had earlier been arrested and when the officers demanded money she said she did not have.

“They asked me if I had money in my Mpesa. A female officer took my phone and initiated a transaction and then told me to enter my PIN,” she said.

“The Mpesa message indicated that the money had gone to SIMCO Energy Umoja. They then released me to go home,” she added.