Rigathi’s Facebook impersonator Collins Kipleting Serem promised God’s blessings to victims
Collins Kipleting Serem from Kamplemur village in Uasin Gishu County had created a parody Facebook account with Mr Gachagua’s name which he used to solicit funds allegedly meant to assist millions of hunger-stricken Kenyans.
DCI detectives have written to the Standard Chartered Bank in Eldoret to establish how much a 22-year-old local artist accused of impersonating Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to solicit funds from generous Kenyans had collected by the time he was arrested over the weekend.
Collins Kipleting Serem from Kamplemur village in Uasin Gishu County had created a parody Facebook account with Mr Gachagua’s name which he used to solicit funds allegedly meant to assist millions of hunger-stricken Kenyans.
He even promised God’s blessings to those who heeded the appeal.
On the page that has over 14,000 followers, he posted a pay bill and the account number that the funds were to be channelled through where unsuspecting Kenyans made their contributions with some individuals depositing up to sh30,000.
Nation learnt that the page was flagged by suspicious journalists who informed the office of the Deputy President after which a complaint was filed at the Parliament Police Station’s DCI by Mr Gachagua’s private secretary Mr Muraya Guare.
A manhunt launched for the suspect who is also a musician known by the alias Rengstar led to the recovery of a mobile phone Nokia C30, two sim cards, a national ID card and a Standard Chartered ATM card over the weekend.
The suspect has since been driven to Nairobi ahead of his arraignment in court.
While inaugurating the 15-member National Steering Committee on Drought Response last month, DP Gachagua implored salaried citizens to set aside a percentage of their salaries towards hunger relief.
He called on them to donate through the pay bill number 880990 to help alleviate hunger amongst at least 4.3 million Kenyans from 23 counties which are currently facing severe drought.
Drought effects
The programme is one of the initiatives by the government to raise funds to address the short-term and long-term effects of drought. Funds collected will go towards distributing food to affected families, cash transfer programs and other activities.
“To complement the ongoing efforts, the National Steering Committee on Drought Response will, among others, establish a private sector-led National Drought Mitigation Appeal Fund and mobilise resources to alleviate the impact of the drought ravaging parts of the country,” Mr Gachagua said at the time.
He added,” This team’s efforts will, therefore, be only as good as our willingness to lend a helping hand. Now more than ever, we need to rekindle our spirit of Harambee and be our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers.”
