Fake police officer.
For Martin Kikwau Mutangili, the proverbial 40 days of a thief lapsed on August 11, 2020 when 17 Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers knocked on the door of a unit at Syokimau’s Prissy Apartments.
The estate’s chairman led the officers drawn from the DCI’s Transnational Organised Crime Unit, to Mutangili’s apartment after explaining why they wanted to arrest the 30-year-old.
To some, he was a senior Kenya Defence Forces officer. To others, he was a National Intelligence Service spy.
To yet another group of victims, he was the chief of staff in the Interior ministry, then headed by Fred Matiang’i. But in reality, he had never worked a day in any of those offices.
He was a fraudster, a silver-tongue devil who had minted money from gullible victims looking to get rich quick. At his apartment, a pregnant woman answered the door.
The woman maintained that she was alone in the apartment but did not specify where her husband Mutangili, was.
Muthaiga police station
The DCI officers insisted on searching the house where they found Mutangili in one of the bedrooms. The officers arrested him and escorted Mutangili to Muthaiga police station.
They confiscated several tender-related papers with forged KDF letterheads and stamps, some financial records and a civilian firearm certificate. He also had Interior ministry stamps.
In his car, a Subaru Forester, they found a black pistol holder and more documents.
KDF, NIS and Interior ministry said there was no record of Mutangili ever working for them.
The Firearm Licensing Board said a certificate found in the apartment was a forgery, as there was no record of Mutangili in the institution’s records.
One of Mutangili’s victims, Chentankumar Vekaria hired him in 2018 to help recover a Sh200,000 debt that a friend had failed to pay.
Mutangili had introduced himself to Mr Vekaria as a senior Kenya Defence Forces officer, who was able to recover the funds.
He confiscated a motorcycle from the debtor as part payment of the debt. A year later, he approached Mr Vekaria, and offered to help him secure a lucrative cereals supply contract from the KDF. He asked Mr Vekaria to pay Sh65,000 to facilitate the KDF supplies deal. But there was no such contract as Mutangili was neither an employee nor partner of the KDF.
Sometime later, Corporal Ivy Wangila was investigating a matter and had arrested a suspect. She received a call from Mutangili, who claimed to be a National Intelligence Service officer.
He wanted the police officer to process cash bail for the arrested suspect but Ms Wangila declined.
When Ms Wangila examined her suspect’s phone data, she found records of numerous calls between him and Mutangili.
After being charged at the JKIA Chief Magistrate’s Court in August, 2020, Mutangili denied defrauding anyone.
He was charged with one count of forgery of a firearm certificate and KDF documents, two counts of impersonating KDF and NIS personnel and one count of obtaining money by false pretense.
KDF supplies deal
He admitted to helping Mr Vekaria recover a debt, but said he never offered a KDF supplies deal. Mutangili also denied owning or having any knowledge of the several documents and other pieces of evidence recovered from his home and car.
He claimed that the Subaru Forester belonged to his wife and a friend.
On April 25, 2024 magistrate Njeri Thuku found Mutangili guilty and sentenced him to 12 months in prison for the two forgery counts, 12 months for obtaining money by false pretense and 12 months for impersonating KDF and NIS personnel.
That meant three years in the cooler. But because the magistrate ordered that the sentences run concurrently, Mutangili was to spend one year in prison.
Mutangili appealed the conviction and sentencing, claiming that the prosecution did not adduce enough evidence to warrant a guilty verdict.
High Court judge Diana Kavedza upheld the convictions, but opted to place her faith in rehabilitation of the serial fraudster.
Justice Kavedza argued that Mr Mutangili is still a young man, and that a two-year probation would likely offer him a chance to change his ways while still deterring him from crime.
“Upon careful review and consideration of the pre-sentence report, it is evident that the appellant, a young adult aged 30 years, stands to benefit more from a rehabilitative approach rather than a custodial sentence,” Justice Kavedza said in her November 19, 2024 judgment.
“While a term of one (1) year imprisonment may reflect the seriousness of the offenses for which the appellant was convicted, it is my considered view that probation would serve a dual purpose. It would facilitate the appellant's rehabilitation by providing structured support and supervision while simultaneously addressing the need to deter future offending. Such an order aligns with the principles of restorative justice and the long-term interests of both the appellant and society,” the judge added.
Justice Kavedza further ordered that Mr Mutangili refunds the Sh55,000 he defrauded Mr Vekaria. Defaulting on the refund will see him re-arrested and taken back to prison to complete the original sentence.
