Woman arrested over fraud in top police office

A suspected con woman has been arrested for obtaining Sh1,7 million from a victim at a government building that houses the office of the Inspector General (IG) of Police days after she was charged with a similar offence allegedly committed at the Ministry of Health headquarters.

Ms Mercy Waihiga Wanjiku had previously been charged for defrauding Eastleigh businessman Ibrahim Aden of goods worth Sh37 million while posing as a Ministry of Health official at Afya House was yet again arrested on Friday on allegations that she used the National Police Service (NPS) offices in Jogoo House to con another businessman of Sh 1.7 million shillings.

Ms Wanjiku is alleged to have lured the businessman into Jogoo House, whisked him past the mandatory security check by officers at the reception into an office where the trader was supposedly made to part with Sh 1.7 million to push a fake tender.

While posing as a procurement officer in the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government , the suspect is reported to have lured the businessman to an office in Jogoo House where she issued him with fake tender documents to supply anti-lock jam pins.

The businessman is said to have procured the items, which he was instructed to hand over to an individual in a parastatal vehicle near Agip House off Haile Sailessie Avenue in Nairobi.

However, when he went to Jogoo House's procurement section to seek payment, the suspect was not there and had switched off her phone.

Court records indicate that the Ms Wanjiku has several cases of obtaining by false pretenses and forgery running as far back as 2014 and 2018 before the recent accusations.

In the latest case, Ms Wanjiku was arrested by Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives at the Milimani Law Courts on Friday shortly after taking plea on seven counts of obtaining goods by false pretenses and forgery in relation to the Ministry of Health scam.

She was taken into a silver double cabin pick up and driven by the detectives to Jogoo House’s NPS headquarters office where she was asked to take the detectives to the office she used to defraud the businessman.

Initial investigations have revealed that businessman John Njuguna Kiarie reported the case to DCI Parklands after Sunday Nation story reported her arrest following the Afya House saga in early May.

He has told police that the suspect presented tender documents on what now appear to be forged National Police Service letterhead and took him to NPS offices in Jogoo House where he was ushered through the police manned reception to the first floor to confirm the authenticity of the tender.

“I was taken by the woman to an office at National Police Service Jogoo House. She walked to the officers manning the reception as I waited and informed them that I was her guest and was allowed to pass through the barrier along with three other men and a woman and taken to the same office. All the documents had what I believed was genuine NPS letterhead,” Njuguna told detectives.

National Police Service spokesman Charles Owino Wahong’o said he was aware of the case which had been brought to the attention of the NPS by detectives.

“I am aware of the case. We were waiting for her arrest. The suspect was arrested and we asked the detectives to bring her and the complainant to Jogoo House to identify the office in which all this happened if at all it did. This time, we are determined to find out the truth,” the Police spokesman said when contacted.

In Mid may DCI detectives arrested three people including Ms Wanjiku for using Ministry of Health headquarters offices to fraudulently obtain goods worth Sh37 million from a businessman.

The woman and her accomplices, posing as senior MoH officials, made Eastleigh businessman Ibrahim Adan to hand over 20,000 boxes of hand gloves, 1,000 pieces of non-contact infrared thermometers and 579 boxes of face masks to them.

To convince the businessman, the fraudsters held meetings with him in Afya House boardroom and used trucks branded with Administration Police and KEMSA colours, according to investigations reports that will be used in the court case. The trucks were escorted by armed people in uniform who are suspected to be rogue police officers..

The goods were allegedly delivered based on a fictitious restricted Ministry of Health tender MOH/DPPH/DNMP/001/GF-ONT/2019-2020 dated May 4, 2020 supposedly awarded to Rocketway Construction Ltd.

It was only after the businessman started following up on payment from the ministry that he was informed that he had been dealing with suspected fraudsters. The case is in court.

Separately, in July 2018, Ms Wanjiku and four other people— Mapili David Mapili, Jackson Kairo, Michael Omondi Okong’o and Alex Mutia Kaseyoka —were charged in a Kiambu court for obtaining 797 laptops worth Sh88.7 million by false pretense.

It was reported that the five obtained the laptops from businessman Idris Ahmed Buro through fake government tenders.

Buro identified Wanjiku and Mapili who he claimed had introduced themselves as head of IT and senior acting head of procurement in the Ministry of ICT respectively.

It is on this premise that Mr Buro alleges he supplied laptops and Windows software at the Ministry after being given fake Local Purchase Orders (LPOs) and letters of award on government letter heads and stamps for three contracts worth Sh 230 million.

He then allegedly supplied 797 laptops and Windows software supposedly to the ministry.

His second company Sanabil General Supplies Ltd supposedly received a letter of award for supply of and delivery of Panolin hydraulic lubricant to the Government Printer in three letters of award dated August 6 signed by one of the suspects for the Principal Secretary.

The suspects would meet the businessman at the ICT ministry’s offices at Teleposta but when he was delivering the goods, he was reportedly informed that government stores were full and he would have to take the goods to Hurligham.

It was only when he went to the ICT ministry for payment that he was informed that they were not aware of any such tender.

In September 2014, Ms Wanjiku alongside the then United States International University-Africa student Juliet Nduta were charged with falsely obtaining Sh 1.4 million from Peter Njoroge while pretending to be procurement officials at Tuskys supermarket.

Mr Njoroge, a teacher in Kinangop, Laikipia County told detectives that he was attending a seminar at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, then Kenya Institute of Education where he met a man who posed as the supermarket’s procurement manager.

The supposed manager claimed there was shortage of rice in Tuskys supermarket and promised to secure him an LPO through his assistants who turned out to be Wanjiku and the then United States International University - Africa student Nduta.

According to detectives, it is then that Njoroge invited his friend with whom he was to supply the rice.

They met at KCB, Eastleigh branch where his friend withdrew Sh 765,000 that was given to a businessman who claimed to be in a position to sell them 1,000 bags of rice to be supposedly supplied to Tuskys supermarket warehouse along Mombasa road.

However, Mr Njoroge and his friend were informed that they had to complete supply of 2,000 bags before being paid.

Instead Njoroge and his friend lost a total of Sh1.4 million to ms Wanjiku and other accused.

Nduta and Wanjiku denied the charges before senior principal magistrate Timothy Okello.