Dorcas Rigathi Impostor Who Created 14 Facebook Pages Offering Ksh200K Loans
The suspect was also reported to have hired his girlfriend who worked as a secretary...
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Police on Wednesday, January 11 arrested 23-year-old Blaise Wafula after he impersonated Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's wife, Dorcas Rigathi.
Wafula was reported to have created 14 Facebook pages which he used to message Kenyans promising them loans ranging between Ksh1,000 and Ksh200,000, at a fee of Ksh700 and an extra Ksh2,500 as security.
The suspect was also reported to have hired his girlfriend who worked as a secretary to guide the interested individuals through the process of registering for the loans.
Police noted that one of the victims who knew the Second Lady at a personal level had contacted her regarding the personal loans, which triggered a three-day manhunt by police officers.
Through technological means, they tracked down the phone of the suspects, first going after Wafula's secretary in Nangili, Kakamega County on Sunday, January 8 before cornering him at a local liquor joint hours later.
“We arrested the suspect alongside nine other gang members,” police said.
The detectives recovered the phone that was being used in the scheme and confirmed that over Ksh100,000 was in the mobile money account. During the time of the arrest, one of the victims sent Ksh2,500 before reversing the amount, with police reports also adding that another victim was swindled a total of Ksh29,000.
The main suspect and his girlfriend were taken to Nairobi and were arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts for obtaining money by false pretense and impersonation.
Under section 382(1) of the Penal Code any person who, with intent to defraud any person, falsely represents himself to be some other person, living or dead, is guilty of a misdemeanour. Under section 36 of the Penal Code, the general punishment for a misdemeanour is a maximum term of 2 years imprisonment with a fine or both.
This is as cases of individuals posing as prominent individuals in Kenya have been on the rise in recent weeks.
On December 19, 2022, a 22-year-old man was arrested after he impersonated Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and fraudulently obtained an unknown amount of money.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) revealed on Monday, December 19 that Collins Kipleting Serem alias Rengstar, a benga artist based in Kamplemur village in Sugoi, was arrested after he created a fake Facebook account bearing the Deputy President’s name.
Afterwards, he proceeded to obtain money from unsuspecting netizens, allegedly meant for feeding Kenyans facing hunger.
The suspect published a pay bill number connected to an account at a local bank in Eldoret and appealed to his over 14,000 followers to come together and raise funds for the victims of hunger, promising God’s blessings to those who would heed the appeal.
Sleuths attached to the Deputy President’s office launched a manhunt for the suspect and arrested him in Sugoi, Uasin Gishu county. He was fined Ksh50,000 or a seven-month jail term after being arraigned in court.
Rengstar who was arrested for impersonating DP Gachagua. /DCI
