![Police have arrested a man accused of conning Mau residents out of thousands of shillings by pretending he is Igembe South MP John Mwirigi. [PHOTO | FILE]](https://i0.wp.com/www.k24tv.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/MWIRIGI.jpg?resize=730%2C414&ssl=1)
Police in Maua, Meru County on Tuesday arrested a middle-aged man accused of conning residents out of tens of thousands of shillings by pretending he is Igembe South MP John Paul Mwirigi.
Zoberion Kinoti, who is in his mid-thirties, allegedly opened a Facebook account, in which he used the name and pictures of Mwirigi, pretending he could give Maua residents jobs and money.
In return, Kinoti would, allegedly, ask his victims to send him money to facilitate their requests.
Speaking in Maua on Tuesday, Mwirigi, 25, told journalists that he had reported the suspected fraudster to police after several Igembe South constituents confronted him with claims that he had defrauded them of their hard-earned money.
Mwirigi alleges that Kinoti often asked his victims, through Facebook, Ksh4, 000, claiming he could give them Ksh150, 000 each. The suspect is also accused of soliciting Ksh150, 000 from desperate job-seekers, pretending he could give them employment in Igembe South.
The lawmaker claims Kinoti started the Facebook page in late 2017, shortly after he won the Igembe South parliamentary seat.
Kinoti allegedly used the name John Paul Mwirigi Kamotho in his con game. The suspect is said to have also claimed, falsely, that he was the personal assistant of Meru Woman Representative Kawira Mwangaza.
Kinoti was arrested at an entertainment joint in Kinoro Market, Imenti South on Tuesday after engaging police in a week-long cat-and-mouse chase.
The suspect was found in possession of several SIM cards and identity cards.
John Paul Mwirigi is Kenya’s youngest MP in the 12th Parliament. He was elected to the National Assembly in the August 8, 2017 general election aged 23.
