Alice Wangari Mwangi, a mother from Olchoro Orok in Nyandarua County, returned from four years of work in Qatar in 2025 with almost nothing to show for it, after losing roughly KSh 1.3 million in savings to a network of conmen she encountered on YouTube.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with TUKO.co.ke, Alice had said she left Kenya in 2021 determined to build a future for her son.
Working as a househelp in Qatar, she earned between KSh 35,000 and KSh 40,000 a month, with tips occasionally pushing her monthly income to KSh 50,000.
By 2023, she had accumulated approximately KSh 1.5 million in her M-Pesa account, with plans to buy land and eventually build a home.
Alice Wangari’s condition that had her lose her savings
That same year, Alice developed a persistent fungal skin infection. Despite hospital treatment in Qatar, she did not recover. The condition caused severe itching across her lower stomach, back and thighs, and over time it left her deeply depressed. It was during this period of desperation that she turned to YouTube for answers.
“I developed a skin fungal infection and went to the hospital for treatment. The doctors told me I had to visit the hospital once a month to receive medication for three months. I completed the dosage, but I did not get better; that’s why I decided to look for help elsewhere,” said Alice.
She came across channels whose profiles described their hosts as healers capable of treating any illness. After she explained her situation, they assured her they could help.
The conversations quickly turned sinister. The men claimed she had been cursed, that someone from her home area had buried her photographs, and that only they could reverse the hex.
One man, who would appear on video calls with his face painted white and holding items he described as witchcraft tools, sent her a video showing her son’s photograph placed inside a pot.
He threatened that the boy would die on a specific date if she did not pay him. Alice, who had not sent him any photos, later suspected he had taken the image from her WhatsApp status.
“At one point, I sent KSh 800,000. The man had promised that he would heal me and buy me a piece of land. He also threatened that if I did not send the money, I would die. He claimed he would heal me because I was cursed and warned that if I did not send the money, my child would die.I was depressed and desperate, so I did whatever they told me,” she added.
Frightened and emotionally drained, she began sending money. The first request was KSh 100,000, followed by further payments of KSh 90,000, KSh 50,000 and additional sums that accumulated over two years. Her M-Pesa records show she sent that particular man approximately KSh 835,000.
She also paid KSh 25,000 to a second individual, KSh 73,000 to a third, KSh 80,000 to a woman who claimed her child was sick, and smaller amounts for phone numbers and other demands.
How one of the suspects was arrested in Nairobi
After returning to Kenya on April 24, 2025, Alice reported the matter at Kasarani Police Station in Nairobi. Officers asked her to contact the man who had used her son’s photograph and tell him she had returned with more money.
She called him, said she wanted help buying a car for an Uber business in Mombasa, and arranged to meet him at TRM Mall.
He arrived expecting money and was arrested on the spot. He remains in remand, and Alice says the items seen in his videos, including what she described as a knife and substances that could render someone unconscious, were recovered and taken to the station.
Alice is still living with the skin condition and cannot consistently afford her medication. Her son, who has just completed Grade 9, cannot progress to Grade 10 due to unpaid school fees of approximately KSh 40,000. She is appealing for medical assistance, psychological support, and help in pursuing justice for the money she lost.
