By S, KNA
A former M-Pesa shop attendant in Saba Saba township within Murang’a county was yesterday charged with stealing more than Sh.259,500 from a 78-year-old man’s bank account over several months.
Caroline Nyambura appeared before Kenol Senior Resident Magistrate Sheila Nyaga charged with two counts of theft and electronic fraud. She allegedly transferred money from the complainant’s Equity Bank account to three mobile numbers registered in her name between April and August 2024.
The court heard that the complainant, Wilson Kamande, routinely visited Nyambura’s M-Pesa shop to withdraw or transfer funds using his Equitel SIM card, which he would hand over to the attendant due to his advanced age and limited knowledge of mobile banking.
According to the prosecution, the theft came to light on September 9, 2024, when Mr. Kamande visited Equity Bank’s Kenol branch for an over-the-counter transaction and discovered that his account balance was significantly lower than expected.
After obtaining a detailed bank statement, he realized that multiple unauthorized transfers had been made to three different M-Pesa numbers between April 8 and August 30, 2024.
Investigations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) traced all three phone numbers to Nyambura. She was later arrested at Kangari shopping centre and booked at Kenol Police Station.
During the hearing, Mr. Kamande testified that he had trusted Nyambura with his transactions for several months, never suspecting that funds were being siphoned from his account.
“I would give her my SIM card and PIN to assist me with transactions since I do not understand the phone operations well. I didn’t know she was taking my money,” Mr. Kamande told the court.
The prosecution presented evidence linking the M-Pesa accounts to the accused even as the defense requested more time to file submissions.
The court is set to rule on the matter on 29th October.