Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

A Nairobi court yesterday ordered Kamiti Maximum Prison to produce in court a prisoner serving a life sentence Hesbon Onyango Nyamweya to be charged with defrauding a woman of Sh7.6 million.

Nyamweya is expected to be produced in court by prison officers on September 5 to face charges of defrauding a woman the million of shillings while in custody claiming he was in position to sell land to her.

Yesterday, the prosecution urged Milimani Magistrate Martha Nanzushi to issue an order to compel the prison facility officer to present Onyango in court to answer charges of fraud alongside his mother.

“We seek for a production order against Hesbon Onyango Nyamweya currently serving a jail term at Kamiti Maximum Prison to answer to fresh charges of conspiracy to defraud Purity Karambu Laird of Sh7,656,500,” State prosecutor stated.

Consequently, Nanzushi allowed the prosecution’s request and ordered Kamiti Prison to produce Onyango in court next month.

Life sentence

The court issued the orders days after Onyango’s mother Pamela Akinyi Wara was charged for allegedly receiving over Sh7.6 million from her son who is serving a life sentence for defilement.

The money is believed to have been defrauded from a city businesswoman in a scam orchestrated at the most secured prison facility in the country.

Akinyi, who appeared in the courtroom on Friday, August 23, 2024, is accused of conspiring with her son to defraud Purity Karambu Laird of Sh7,656,500 in the land scheme

According to investigations conducted by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations Serious Crime Unit, the fraud scheme was carried out over several months, with Akinyi allegedly receiving the stolen money between May 1, 2020, and September 17, 2020.

The court heard that Onyango, serving a life sentence at Kamiti Maximum Prison, played a central role in orchestrating the fraud.
Karambu, the victim in this case, reportedly fell prey to the scam and lost a substantial amount of money.

The prosecution claims Akinyi, acting in concert with her son and others not present in court, received the defrauded funds directly into her bank account. The police say that the money was transferred in several tranches over the course of nearly five months in 2020

Investigators believe that the fraud scheme was well-coordinated, taking advantage of Akinyi’s elderly status and the perceived improbability of her involvement in such activities.

Mobile phone contacts

They suspect Onyango, leveraging his prison network, communicated with Akinyi and others through a mobile phone, coordinating the fraud from behind bars.

Investigators into the matter say that despite being in prison, Onyango managed to orchestrate the fraud, with Akinyi acting as an intermediary to facilitate the transfer of funds. After receiving the money, Onyango later transferred the funds to his elderly mother, Akinyi.

The funds were then used by Wara to acquire multiple prime properties in various locations, including Ongata Rongai, Langata and Migori county, reportedly worth millions of shillings, showcasing the scale of the fraud orchestrated from behind prison walls, further complicating the investigation.

It is said that for instance in Ongata Rongai, Onyango’s mother is currently building a multi-million residential house using the proceeds of crime allegedly received from his son in his prison cell at Kamiti Maximum Prison. On Friday, Akinyi faced three counts of stealing, handling stolen goods, and conspiracy to commit a felony contrary to the Penal Code.

“Between May 1 and September 7, 2020, within the Republic of Kenya, otherwise than in the course of stealing, dishonestly undertook the retention of Sh 7,656 500 knowing or having reason to believe the money was acquired through theft,” the charge sheet reads in part.