A son of former National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi has narrated to a Nairobi court how he fell victim to the so-called "Mchele gang'' at a high-end entertainment joint in Kericho county that left his accounts dry on the night of August 22, 2019.
"Within less than 12 hours, a whopping Sh 720,800 had been transferred from my Standard Chartered Bank, CBA Bank, and my KCB bank account to Mpesa sent to an unknown phone number and Co-operative bank account. How this happened is a mystery to me," Muturi's son Brian Njoka told the court.
Njoka informed Milimani Senior Resident Magistrate Ben Mark that the incident all started when he went to have a drink at a club known as Exclusive in Kericho town together with his cousin and his friends before their drinks were spiked with an unknown substance by two unidentified women who stole his Mobile Phone make Samsung Galaxy Note 9 worth Sh 100,000.
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Njoka told the court the two women joined their table without an invitation from him or his friends.
"I do recall that on August 22,2019 at about 10:30 pm while on a visit to Kericho town with my mother, I went out with my friends to a club called Exclusive where we made merry as l settled my bills using my mobile phone valed at Sh 100,000. At the club while parting at some point l saw two women join my table but later left. From then l do not know what happened as l left the premises the following day at 12:30 pm," Njoka stated.
He informed the court that immediately after he left the club he went back to his hotel room where he took a shower and he and his mum travelled back to Nairobi without lodging a complaint of the lost mobile phone with any police station within Kericho town.
When asked by the prosecution why he never reported the matter within the county, Njoka replied that" because my phone is insured so for me it was a normal loss as I would report the theft when I get back to my insurance agent in Nairobi."
"Moments after arriving home, l tried to access my Standard Chartered Bank account through one of my other phones and found that l had a balance of Sh 650 where there was money above Sh 415,000," Muturi's son told the court.
Following the revelations, Njoka said that he immediately called the bank to confirm if indeed the alleged transactions were conducted by a third party.
"To my surprise, within 12 hours, l had made Multiple transactions from the Bank account to M-pesa to a tune of over Sh 414,350. The amount was transacted over the night and withdrawn via a number in Embu county," he said.
Njoka further stated he was also shocked to find that his CBA bank which had Sh 210,000 the funds had also been withdrawn by the suspected fraudsters.
"Since l wanted to give a friend of mine Sh 50,000, l tried my CBA bank account where l was told l transcated Sh 15,000 on August 22,2019 which l confirmed and asked for my balance and was informed that the balance is Sh 450 in an account that had Sh 210,000," he said.
The court heard that the bank officials of CBA confirmed to Njoka that he had made multiple transactions using his phone on the same night of August 22,2019.
He added that following the frustration and huge loss of his cash through his Safraicom Line he decided to visit a Safaricom shop within Nairobi CBD
On inquiring with the telecommunication attendant, he was informed that his sim card had failed and was advised to do a replacement for the same.
"In my KCB Mpesa account l had a balance of Sh 25,000 which was also withdrawn. on realising this situation was going beyond a lost phone l proceeded to Parliament Police Station where l made my report," Njoka said.
Asked by the prosecuting counsel on whether he shared his mobile phone pin number with any of the friends who they were drinking with at the club in Kericho?, Njoka replied he can not recall what happened after he paid the bills of Sh 15,000.
He also confirmed to court that he was not familiar with the two women who joined him at the club on that particular night.
Muturi's son was testifying in a case where two suspects Alex Njagi Kathuro alias Alex Muhia and Denis Murimi Wanjiku are charged with defrauding him of his phone valed at Sh 100,000 and cash Sh 720,800.
On August 22,2019, Njagi is alleged to have ordered his co-accused Murimi who was in Embu county to open a cooperative bank account and register a Safaricom line for the purpose of receiving the funds from Njoka's accounts.
However, the court issued summons against Rotich Korir Partrick to testify in the matter on October 24,2022.
