A 21-year-old man who allegedly drugged a Nairobi County Government enforcement officer stole his phone and withdrew Sh66,000 from his M-Pesa account in Kasarani, Nairobi, is facing charges of drugging, theft and electronic fraud.
Joseph Karianjahi is accused of administering a stupefying drug to Kenneth Kigen to facilitate the commission of the offences.
Karianjahi is accused of stealing Kigen's phone valued at Sh25,000. He was also charged with electronic fraud, where he is accused of conspiring with others to cause the loss of Sh66,000 stolen from Kigen's M-Pesa.
He is accused of committing the offence by interfering with the functioning of a computer system with the intent to gain an advantage.
The suspect is alleged to have committed the offences on October 29, together with other persons at large.
In the last charge, Karianjahi is accused of handling suspected stolen property after he was allegedly found with Kigen's phone and Sh18,000 suspected to be part of the loot from the complainant's M-Pesa account at the time of his arrest on November 3.
According to court papers, Kigen was drinking at a wine and spirits outlet in Hunters area when he was drugged. He regained consciousness two days later at a hospital where he was being detoxified.
He discovered that his phone was missing and, after replacing his SIM card, he noticed that money in his M-Pesa account had been stolen.
The complainant is suspected to have given out his M-Pesa PIN after he was allegedly drugged and Sh46,000 was withdrawn in two transactions, while Sh20,000 was transferred to other accounts.
Karianjahi is said to have deposited Sh10,000 into his wife's account after allegedly withdrawing the money from Kigen's M-Pesa account.
Kigen reported the matter to the police and the M-Pesa agent from whom the money was withdrawn helped identify Karianjahi before he was tracked down and arrested.
The suspect denied the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Hellen Okwani of the Makadara Law Courts.
Kigen told the court that Karianjahi had agreed to give him Sh20,000 and the mobile phone, but that he had not received either the cash or the phone.
Karianjahi's lawyer Mercy Mumbu told the court that the mobile phone had been kept by the officer investigating the matter and asked for lenient bail conditions for the suspect.
The matter will come up for mention on November 17 for a possible withdrawal of the two charges after Kigen's phone is produced in court and it is established that Karianjahi has paid the Sh20,000.
The court is also expected to receive the suspect's social inquiry report from the State Department of Probation and Aftercare Services to assist in setting bail conditions for Karianjahi before the trial on the other two charges where the government is the complainant.
