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Mechanic jailed for stealing Sh45,000 from M-Pesa shop

By Joseph Ndunda October 30th, 2020 1 min read

A 19-year-old mechanic who stole Sh45,808 from an M-Pesa shop in Kibera will have to pay Sh100,000 fine to buy his freedom.

In default, Kevin Ouma will serve a one-year jail term for stealing from Naima Ibrahim on October 26.

Ouma was handed the penalty by senior principal magistrate Philip Mutua of Kibera law courts after pleading guilty to the charges and admitting to the facts of the case.

He had walked into Ms Ibrahim’s M-Pesa shop purporting to be having a conversation with a Safaricom customer care officer who wanted to speak to a nearby M-Pesa agent.

He then gave Ms Ibrahim earphones and remained with the mobile phone.

The caller on the other end purporting to be a Safaricom agent and instructed her to dial certain numbers and she heeded, after which the money was transferred mysteriously.

The money was transferred to Mr Ouma’s friend immediately.

Ouma was later apprehended and taken to Kilimani police station where he admitted the theft to police before he was taken to court.