Uhuru’s phone number called tycoon in Sh10m fraud case – Lawyer

Lawyer Cliff Ombeta has claimed that the telephone number used to call Sameer Africa boss Naushad Meralli to con him out of Sh10 million belongs to President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Mr Ombetta appeared in court on Tuesday for seven suspects who are facing a charge of conning Mr Meralli by pretending to be President Kenyatta.

It is alleged that they used mobile number 0722 208842 to call Mr Merali, asking him to facilitate the release of the money for the purchase of land, while mimicking the voice of the President.

They pretended the call was from State House in Nairobi.

According to police, Mr Merali was outside the country on a business trip when the fraudsters called him.

He therefore gave complainant Akif Hamid Butt, the Finance Director of Sameer Africa, the go-ahead to process the payment, believing he had spoken to the head of State.

Mr Butt was told that the money was for the purchase of land in Milimani, Nairobi, and the fraudsters gave him the number of an account at Equity Bank, into which he deposited it.

One of the suspects is a 33-year old IT graduate, Gilbert Kirunja, accused by police of faking President Kenyatta's voice and recently conning magnate Merali out Sh80 million. He lives a life of opulence in Karen, Nairobi.

Kirunja, shocked DCI investigators with his fast-lane living, despite being young and unemployed.

His assets include a 10-bedroom mansion, one of the last things the investigators would have imagined when they raided his home.

The large, ornate metal gates leading to the home made it clear this was no ordinary conman suspect.

Kirunja’s house is sandwiched between other upscale homes. A 60-inch colour television welcomes visitors entering his lounge. The seats are buttery-soft leather. Many of his age mates could only fantasise about this kind of life.

Police said Kirunja is the mastermind of a seven-man gang that conned the Merali.

The IT guru is said to be so skilled that he has perfected mimicking the President’s voice.

And when he picked up his mobile to call Merali on January 14 about a tender, the tycoon had no reason to doubt he caller was not the head of state.

Merali and the 'President' exchanged pleasantries on the phone, then got down to business.

The ‘President informed Merali of a state tender he wanted the well-known businessman to enjoy. But there was a catch. The 'head of state' asked Merali for a small favour before he could embark on the lucrative contract — Sh10 million in advance for facilitation. That presumably was a trifle compared to the tender itself.........

They were handed Sh10 million in cash and drove off.

Police said the same group returned two more times on other days and received more cash, the total Sh80 million.

Yesterday, Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji, through lawyer Edwin Okello, told the court that due to the complexity of the investigations and the number of suspects, including some who are still at large, the investigations will involve voluminous documents including bank documents and call data records.


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But this story already not adding up mara paid cash mara paid to Equity Bank account mara 10m, mara 80m. Not synchronized!!!