Man devastated after two women drug and steal Ksh500,000 from his bank, mobile money in Nairobi

A youthful man from Nairobi has been left devastated after losing at least Ksh500,000 in assets and money to fraudsters.

Lewis Wachira had on Sunday, March 7 hosted a couple of friends at his house in Kayole Junction, not knowing the guests had ulterior motives.

The friends, identified as Lillian Njambi, 42, Loise Waithera, 35, and a few others, drugged Wachira and emptied his bank account and M-Pesa wallet.

Wachira lost at least Ksh324,000, which had been stored in his bank account, to the fraudsters.

The suspects also withdrew at least Ksh53,000 from Wachira’s M-Pesa accounts, including Pay Bill and Till numbers, which he uses in operating a printing business.

It is unclear how Njambi and Waithera obtained Wachira’s bank and M-Pesa PIN numbers.

Also stolen, were the victim’s mobile phones, electronic items and other house-hold goods worth thousands of shillings.

Wachira says he woke up on Monday to “a string of shocking messages” indicating he had made transfers amounting to hundreds of thousands of shillings the previous night.

On Monday, March 8, Wachira made a report at Ruai Police Station under the OB Number 62/8/3/2021.

“I am disappointed that two weeks later, no arrests have been made despite sharing with the DCI the suspects’ particulars,” he said.

“The longer it takes for the matter to be settled, the higher is the chance of me losing everything I have worked hard for,” he said.

Wachira says he has followed up with his bank and mobile service provider seeking clarification on how the “strange” transfers were made without his direct input, but the two (bank and mobile service provider) “have been ignoring my e-mail messages”.

“I had set my [daily] account withdrawal limit at Ksh50,000. The bank, however, tells me that PesaLink, [which the fraudsters used in transferring the monies], works differently. Why would my bank allow large withdrawals, which is a strange money-removal pattern on my account?” posed Wachira.

“It had taken me years to raise that amount of money, given I am self-employed. I had saved that money with the hope of expanding my business. Such a loss should not happen [to someone], and life goes back to normal [without the authorities making an effort to arrest and prosecute] the thieves. I am sure they will do the same to someone else,” he said.

Wachira says an independent background search on the two women reveals they had been arrested in early March for drugging and stealing from unsuspecting victims in Nairobi.

“I fail to understand the circumstances under which they were released back into the community to continue with their fraud with little or no regard for the law,” said Wachira.

For Lewis Wachira, he hopes the law enforcement officers will come to his rescue and help him recover monies he had planned to use in expanding his printing business.

The victim said a trail of the transfers indicates the monies were wired to one Samuel Ngugi, whom he has never met.