Three detained by DCI for posing as senior government officials on social media

Kenyans have been warned by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) not to fall for phony social media accounts pretending to be elected officials like President William Ruto and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

This occurs as three suspects have been detained after being discovered operating multiple social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. They were discovered making enormous sums of money after deceiving unwary Kenyans into believing they would be given job opportunities, financial aid, and other favors.

After creating a Facebook account pretending to be an employee of the Office of the First Lady from which he pretended to be a loans officer offering speedy loans, 19-year-old Michael Wekesa was detained in Sirisia, Bungomaa county.

“The suspect sought a little deposit as “facilitation fees” to speed up the process after promising interest-free loans from the prestigious First Lady’s Office,” stated DCI on Sunday.

“Unaware Kenyans remitted money to a supplied Mpesa account, which was then transferred to a till number under the suspect’s name,” the report states.

Wekesa is rumored to vanish and reject phone calls from his victims after collecting the cash.

Isaac Oduor, 19, who ran a “call center” that took calls and is allegedly Wekesa’s accomplice, was also detained.

According to DCI, three mobile phones that were allegedly utilized in the transactions were found.

Dennis Kimaru, a Kirinyaga University graduate with a degree in commerce, was detained after it was discovered that he was running a false account for Col. Fabian Lengusuranga, President Ruto’s aide-de-camp.

Additionally, he managed the Facebook pages for Mzalendo Kimaru (jeshii), Mzalendo Kym Korir, and the Obuntu Family.

DCI has also disclosed that more investigations have been opened in order to detain more people.

First Lady Rachel Ruto, Second Lady preacher Dorcas Rigathi, Chief Justice Martha Koome, Defense CS Aden Duale, and Energy and Petroleum CS Davis Chirchir are among the other authorities who have been impersonated.

In the meantime, it has been advised to Kenyans not to react to requests from unverified accounts and to report any suspect accounts to the DCI hotline.