Violet Nyakera appeared before the Makadara Law Courts to face charges of transferring Sh120,000 from a “friend’s” M-pesa account.
Nyakera, who was charged with stealing the money from Daniel Itemo in Ruaraka, Nairobi, on October 14, staunchly denied the accusations, asserting that the funds were provided willingly by the complainant, whom she claimed had offered to support her and her two children.
Nyakera has been charged with theft in contravention of Section 268 (1) as read with Section 275 of the Penal Code.
The bizarre sequence of events began when Mr Itemo encountered the accused person in the area.
Nyakera approached him, requesting Sh80 to pay her daily installments for her mobile phone, which the dealer had disconnected due to her previous defaults.
Out of kindness, Itemo lent her the money and even allowed her to use his phone to make the payment.
However, the situation took an unexpected turn when Nyakera borrowed Itemo’s phone to make a call.
Also read: How Mpesa agent lost money to fraudsters purporting to be Mpesa staffers
She allegedly seized the opportunity to transfer the money from Itemo’s M-pesa account to her own.
It was only the following day that Itemo realised the money had been stolen while attempting to make some payments. He promptly contacted Safaricom Limited, who directed him to report the matter to the police for assistance.
After conducting their investigations, the police managed to recover Sh1,000, while the remainder of the funds had already been withdrawn from the suspect’s M-pesa account.
Before Senior Principal Magistrate Mary Njagi, Nyakera firmly denied the charges and appealed for lenient bail terms. In response, prosecution counsel Adeline Rongito urged the court to consider the amount of money allegedly stolen and the circumstances surrounding the purported theft.
Ultimately, Magistrate Njagi granted the accused person release on a cash bail of Sh100,000, accompanied by a requirement to provide a contact person who will ensure her attendance in court for the trial.
The case is scheduled to be heard on February 22, 2024, with only two witnesses expected to testify—Daniel Itemo and the police officer who conducted the investigation.
