Joshua Waiganjo conned me, former forest officer says

Police impostor Joshua Waiganjo. (Photo: File/Standard)

A former Kenya Forest Service (KFS) commandant has claimed police impostor Joshua Waiganjo conned him out of Sh10,000.

John Francis Waweru, while testifying Thursday in the High Court in Nakuru, said he gave Mr Waiganjo the cash for two slots in the police service, which he did not get.

Mr Waweru said when Waiganjo visited KFS Londiani during a passing-out ceremony, he informed him that he needed assistance to have his grandson and a friend's son employed in the police service.

He said this was after a previous visit in which he got to know Waiganjo as a senior police officer and, according to the tradition of the service, he knew some recruitment slots were left for them to fill.

He said after he made the request, Waiganjo promised to raise the matter with his bosses and said he needed Sh10,000 to facilitate the deal.

Waweru said he made the payments in three instalments via M-pesa; Sh4,000, Sh3,000 and Sh3,000.

He said despite making the payments, the two did not manage to join the police force.

He said he called Waiganjo and he told him he was in charge of recruitment in Eldoret but promised to intervene.

He didn't and Waweru said he lost communication with Waiganjo until December 2012, when he heard through the media that he was an impostor.

Waweru told the court he met Waiganjo for the first time in his office at Londiani sometime in 2012. He claimed he was an operations officer at ASTU, Gilgil.

He said after about two weeks, and on a working day while in class giving instructions to forest rangers, a security officer informed him that Waiganjo had shown up again.

He said Waiganjo was in the same uniform he had on earlier but with a different rank - the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police.

On September 14, 2012, he said Waiganjo attended a graduation ceremony at Londiani and during lunch, he was given VIP treatment though he was not dressed in ceremonial clothes.