Detectives have dismantled a sophisticated fraud ring after four suspects allegedly swindled a local businessman out of Sh105,000 by promising him a non-existent contract to supply vegetables to Kitui GK Prisons.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) described the group as “smooth-talking pretenders” who impersonated senior Kenya Prisons Service officers with remarkable conviction.
Using forged documents and polished official jargon, they persuaded the victim he had secured a lucrative tender, collecting the money as supposed processing fees before vanishing.
“By the time the victim’s intuition whispered ‘something is off,’ his cash had already taken a walk, never to return,” the DCI said in a wry statement on Saturday.
After weeks of covert surveillance, officers swooped on the suspects inside a black Toyota Harrier (registration KCV 543W) in Kitui town. Clement Wachira, Andrew Kimani, Ann Waweru and Rehema Makandi were arrested on the spot.
A search of the vehicle revealed a trove of incriminating evidence: 37 fake tender approval forms bearing Kenya Prisons letterheads, two counterfeit prison service identity cards, eight mobile phones and six national ID cards belonging to unrelated individuals. Investigators called the haul proof of a “well-oiled con machine”.
The arrests highlight a growing menace of tender scams across Kenya, where fraudsters exploit public procurement processes to prey on hopeful entrepreneurs. Similar schemes have surfaced in recent months, often targeting small-scale suppliers with promises of government contracts.
The four remain in police custody ahead of court appearances on charges of impersonation, forgery and obtaining money by false pretences. Detectives are now examining whether the syndicate, which appears to have operated with meticulous planning, targeted other victims using the same vegetable-supply ruse.
