mellofmjamaica.com
The SIM card registration process in Kenya has led to the arrest of a police impersonator caught swindling several Kenyan politicians out of money.
The high school student, who posed as a senior police superintendent, was brought before a Nairobi court yesterday and charged with attempting to extort the sum of KSh90,000 (US$1070) from three MPs via several SMS text messages.
According to court files, Nicholas Mulwa Mbaluka had sent the messages using his phone, and upon further investigations by police it was found the SIM-card was registered to his name.
Mbaluka is said to have sent the messages to the three MPs requesting the money to offset his mother’s hospital bill. The young man admitted the he had obtained money from two of the MPs, while the other ignored the messages. He subsequently decided to send a series of threatening messages.
The student pleaded guilty to the charges and has been detained in custody until January 21 when the court will make its ruling.
The arrest comes barely a week after the deadline set by the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), which required all SIM cards be registered with the identification details of the holders in a bid to cut the increasing number of mobile-perpetrated crimes, elapsed.
The high school student, who posed as a senior police superintendent, was brought before a Nairobi court yesterday and charged with attempting to extort the sum of KSh90,000 (US$1070) from three MPs via several SMS text messages.
According to court files, Nicholas Mulwa Mbaluka had sent the messages using his phone, and upon further investigations by police it was found the SIM-card was registered to his name.
Mbaluka is said to have sent the messages to the three MPs requesting the money to offset his mother’s hospital bill. The young man admitted the he had obtained money from two of the MPs, while the other ignored the messages. He subsequently decided to send a series of threatening messages.
The student pleaded guilty to the charges and has been detained in custody until January 21 when the court will make its ruling.
The arrest comes barely a week after the deadline set by the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), which required all SIM cards be registered with the identification details of the holders in a bid to cut the increasing number of mobile-perpetrated crimes, elapsed.
