Man in court for allegedly transferring Sh15,000 from friend's M-Pesa to himself
Mr Paul Ochieng at the Makadara Law Courts.
What you need to know:
- When the complainant became drunk, Mr Ochieng allegedly took his phone and sent Sh15,000 to himself before deleting the M-Pesa message.
A man who allegedly stole his friend’s mobile phone and transferred Sh15,000 to himself after secretly obtaining his PIN was charged with intentionally withholding messages delivered erroneously contrary to section 35 of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act 2018.
Paul Ochieng is accused of intentionally retaining electronic payment of the cash delivered to his M-Pesa, being property of his friend Joseph Kwanja, in Umoja estate in Nairobi on July 4.
Mr Kwanja had met Mr Ochieng on his way home when the accused is said to have asked him for Sh200 to meet some family needs. The complainant said he gave him the cash before they proceeded to a nearby bar.
They had drinks after which Mr Kwanja said he paid the bill via M-Pesa. He suspects that Mr Ochieng took note of his PIN number while he was carrying out the transaction.
When the complainant got drunk, Mr Ochieng allegedly took his phone and sent Sh15,000 to himself before deleting the M-Pesa confirmation message from the device.
Initially, Mr Kwanja says, he did not notice the cash transfer from his M-Pesa wallet. But the next day, he realised that something was amiss and requested an M-Pesa mini-statement which showed that Sh15,000 had been sent to Mr Ochieng.
Mr Kwanja said he made several calls to his friend but that they went unanswered, prompting him to report the matter at Buruburu police station.
Mr Ochieng was traced and arrested after investigations were conducted.
He denied the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Hellen Okwani of the Makadara Law Courts.
He was released on a cash bail of Sh4,000.
The case will be mentioned on September 7 before hearing starts on December 5.
