Traders charged with illegal listing of four Safaricom numbers

Safe Gate Cargo directors

Abdirahman Adan Hussein and Bare Mohamed Abdirahman, directors of Safe Gate Cargo Services, at the Milimani Law Courts on January 5, 2021.

Photo credit: Richard Munguti | Nation Media Group

Two traders have been charged with illegally taking a company's four registered Safaricom numbers.

Abdirahman Adan Hussein and Bare Mohamed Abdirahman, directors of Safe Gate Cargo Services, were charged Tuesday with conspiring to fraudulently obtain the numbers from Golden Gates Cargo Services Limited.

It is said that they had accomplices who are yet to be arrested.

State prosecutor Anderson Gikunda told the court that they illegally had the four numbers registered under their company’s name.

Abdrirahaman was separately charged with forging Bare’s signature through a letter to Safaricom, requesting registration of postpaid services for the four numbers. The letter was allegedly forged on October 13, 2020.

Abdirahaman faced a third count of fraudulently uttering (presenting) the said letter to Safaricom’s Eastleigh store, where he requested to be permitted to register the postpaid services.

It is said that he claimed the letter was genuine and that his co-director had signed it.

The suspects denied three counts of conspiracy to defraud and forgery. 

The prosecution opposed their release on bond saying they will interfere with investigations.

They were remanded as the court awaits an affidavit detailing the matter of interference with the probe.

The case will be mentioned on January 6.