Police in Kasarani are investigating a sophisticated scam in which a mutura seller lost more than Sh416,850 after a female customer borrowed his phone under the pretext of making a payment.
The incident, which has raised fresh concerns over phone-based fraud targeting small businesses, occurred on June 2, 2026 at the seller’s stall in Githurai.
According to court documents, the complainant, Sammy Wamwati Nyathira, was approached by a woman who expressed interest in buying an entire goat head, but claimed she did not have sufficient funds on her M-Pesa account.
She requested to use Wamwati’s phone to call her husband to facilitate payment.
To build trust, the woman shared a contact number displayed on the mutura base. Moments later, a man called, identifying himself as her husband and confirming that he would send the money.
As more customers arrived, Wamwati handed over his phone to the suspect. The woman reportedly removed the SIM card, returned the device, and disappeared shortly afterwards. When Wamwati failed to receive any payment notifications, he contacted Safaricom, only to discover that his business line had been deactivated.
Investigations later revealed that Sh416,850 had been transferred from his account to several other mobile numbers.
Detective Francis Mutie appeared before Makadara Law Courts on June 3, 2026 seeking a court order compelling Safaricom to disclose the identities and details of the recipient phone numbers.
In a sworn affidavit, the officer stated that the information was critical to tracing the stolen funds and apprehending the suspects, who are believed to have used SIM-swap tactics.
The case remains under investigation.