An Eldoret court has granted directorate of criminal investigations, DCI, permission to detain two suspects connected to a fake overseas job placement agency that has been conning hundreds of unsuspecting job seekers in Uasin Gishu County.
The suspects, Mary Ann Wanjiru Mungai and Margret Wanjiku Stephene, who were arrested last Friday by the sleuths at their agency office in Eldoret town after a complaint was raised by another agency based in Nairobi accusing them of forging their documents, will be detained for 14 days.
While making an application to detain the respondents, investigating officer, police Constable Cyrus Oriosa, told the court that the suspects were also linked to similar cases in other major towns in Rift Valley, Nairobi, and Nyanza.
Oriosa told Eldoret Chief Magistrate Dennis Mikoyan that the complaint against the two was reported at Eldoret Central Police Station by the proprietor of a Nairobi-based company whose documents were allegedly forged by the respondents.
“I am investigating the offences of impersonation, forgery of documents contrary to Section 384 of penal code and obtaining money by false pretence in violation of Section 313 of the Criminal Procedure Code,” Orioso said in an affidavit.
He told the court that the complainant, Mary Nyokabi Gicheru, reported to the station that she had been receiving several complaints from people who alleged that they had paid money for the processing of visas and travel documents to her agency, Kerry Gold Agency in Eldoret.
Detectives told the court that upon investigations, they established the respondents were in charge of the fake Eldoret-based agency that has been taking advantage of young Kenyans yearning for overseas jobs and studies.
In his application to detain the suspects for 14 days, the investigating officer told the court that he was yet to record statements from complainants and that the suspects were a flight risk and were likely to interfere with investigations if released on bond.
The investigating officer further told the court that police are yet to arrest other suspects believed to be working in cohort with the respondents.
“I believe there are other suspects yet to be arrested and the respondents in our custody will help us arrest other suspects after recording their statements,” the investigating officer told the court.
The respondent did not object to an application to be detained. They told the court that they were okay with their detention.
“We are not objecting to the application by the police to be detained at the station for 14 days,” they told the court when they were asked to comment on the application by the investigating officer.
By Kiptanui Cherono
