Safaricom employee charged in Sh29m police sacco theft case
A prosecution counsel told the magistrate that Mr Adogo will be tried alongside M-Pesa Agents who were arraigned last year over the fraud. PHOTO | FILE
A Safaricom employee accused of using people’s national identification card numbers to register mobile lines used to steal over Sh29.5million from the National Police DT Sacco Society Limited has been charged with fraud.
Mr David Obwanga Adoyo, holding the title of a trade development representative (TDR) at Safaricom, faced six fraud charges when he was charged before Milimani senior principal magistrate Gilbert Shikwe.
A prosecution counsel, Judy Koech, told the magistrate that Mr Adogo will be tried alongside M-Pesa Agents who were arraigned last year over the fraud.
He was accused of aiding and abetting the alleged offence by allegedly facilitating the registration of five mobile numbers 799107895,741290372, 768890678,793581012 and 796338248 using national identification cards (IDs) of people without their consent.
Mr Adoyo allegedly linked the said mobiles lines to sacco members' accounts to withdraw Sh12,954,937 of their savings through M-Pesa agents.
The prosecution has identified persons whose IDs were used without their consent as Godfrey Njuguna Lucas, Peris Njoki Mwangi, Kesia Wangari Maina and Beth Wambui Murage.
“This case will be consolidated with another in which suspects have been charged and are out on a cash bail of Sh1 Million. I urge this court to invoke the same bail terms in the case before court,” Ms Koech pleaded.
Justice Shikwe imposed the same terms as in the previous file by ordering Mr Adoyo to deposit a cash bail of Sh1million.
The case will be mentioned in a fortnight for consolidation and fixing of hearing.
Mr Adogo will now be charged along with M-Pesa operators Ms Jane Njoki Gaitho, Alexander Odhiambo Otieno, and ICT expert Brian Samba Oluoch.
The three were accused of fraud and money laundering in what investigators insist is an elaborate cybercrime syndicate.
Ms Gaitho and Mr Otieno --the Gikomba market-based M-Pesa operators-- were accused of allowing their agent outlets to be used to withdraw over Sh7,035,200 stolen from the police sacco.
The millions were allegedly stolen from the sacco between August 2021 and April 15, 2022. The charges against Adoyo were allegedly committed within the same period August 28, 2021, and April 15, 2022, as preferred against the other suspects.
The M-Pesa operators were further charged with money laundering by allegedly allowing those withdrawing the funds to access the said Sh7,035,200 when they knew the money had been stolen from the thrift institution.
