Police have apprehended a man suspected of impersonating journalist Eric Latiff to solicit handouts from guests previously featured on Latiff’s show.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) reported that the 30-year-old suspect was arrested in Kikuyu’s Zambezi area, and the phone used in the fraudulent activities was seized. Messages on the phone revealed that the suspect had targeted prominent personalities associated with other well-known journalists in Kenya’s media industry.
“In the imposture dating back to 2023, the suspect has been personating journalist and radio host Eric Latiff of Standard Group’s Spice FM, reaching out to guests hosted by the media personality in his Situation Room show,” the DCI said.
In the grand scheme of things, detectives said the suspect sends ‘thank you’ messages to the guests after every show before embarking on coning them in the guise of needing “kakitu nimekwama mahali”.
The DCI said among those targeted by the suspect is a Principal Secretary, a renowned businessman, a politician and a senior officer at a power utility company.
“Upon arrest and brief interrogation, the suspect alleged to be a diploma holder in journalism from a renowned media institution in the country, and previuosly working with a religious FM radio,” the DCI said in a statement.
Police have retrieved crucial evidence from the suspect, including SIM cards used to send messages to victims and receive the solicited cash. These gadgets have been submitted to the Digital Forensic Laboratory for analysis.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) stated that a Milimani court has granted detectives at the Nairobi Regional Headquarters seven days to complete their investigations.
On the same day, DCI boss Mohamed Amin highlighted the department’s success in tackling money laundering cases, particularly those involving fake gold deals.
Speaking at the DCI headquarters during a visit by FBI director Christopher Wray, Amin noted that some suspects in the racket are foreigners from mineral-rich countries using Kenya as a transit hub. He emphasized that their efforts aim to eliminate this type of fraud, which he believes is deeply linked to the underworld of money laundering.
