EACC seeks to detain imposter for 14 days

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has applied to detain an imposter who allegedly defrauded millions of shillings while posing as the commission's investigator.

The commission asked Nairobi Principal Magistrate Robinson Ondieki to allow them hold Ibrahim Ngamau for 14 days to complete investigations over allegations that he has been demanding bribes from unsuspecting members of the public to protect them from graft investigations.

"The commission is yet to finalise investigations and establish the true identity of the suspect. We have received several complaints that he has been demanding bribes to protect some people adversely mentioned in corruption cases," said the commission.

EACC told the court that they need the 14 days to complete investigations and establish the true identity of Ngamau since they have not been able to recover any of his identification documents since his arrest on Friday.

According to the commission, they received information from a complainant that Ngamau was claiming to be an investigator with the EACC probing allegations of illegal payment of public funds for supply of maize subsidy.

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In his scheme to defraud the unsuspecting complainant, Ngamau is said to have demanded a bribe of Sh1 million to clear his name from the alleged EACC investigations.

Laid a trap

"He was purporting to be an EACC investigator and demanding for a financial advantage of Sh1 million from the complainant so as to assist him in clearing an EACC investigation over payment claims from the Ministry of Agriculture for the supply of maize flour subsidy," said EACC.

The commission's investigator, Amos Yankaso, in his affidavit swore that after receiving information from the complainant, they laid a trap on November 25 at the Quiver Lounge along Thika Road where Ngamau had planned to meet the complainant.

He said his team of investigators accompanied the complainant to the meeting point to establish the claims and, after confirming he was demanding the bribe, arrested him.

"After arresting the suspect, we did not manage to recover any identification documents from him and it would be difficult to trace his whereabouts once he is released from custody. That is why we need to detain him further to establish his true identity," swore Yankaso.

The EACC stated that after arresting the suspect, they received more complaints from people he had allegedly conned using the same tricks and requires time to establish the truth by conducting a forensic audit of his phone conversations.

Ngamau, however, opposed the application to detain him for two weeks, arguing that he has already been in custody since Friday last week.

The magistrate will rule today whether to allow the commission to detain the suspect to complete investigations.