Jonah Kariuki, father of Boniface Kariuki, the mask vendor who was shot by police during protests, has been scammed out of Ksh 200,000 by individuals posing as officials from the Social Health Authority (SHA).
According to a statement by the family’s spokesperson, Emily Wanjiru, the fraudsters contacted Kariuki, claiming they would assist with settling the hospital bills.
The spokesperson explained that Kariuki received a call from someone purporting to work with SHA, who claimed they needed to register the family into the scheme and help pay the bill.
The fraudsters falsely told Kariuki that he needed to provide a certain amount of money to facilitate SHA registration. Naively, he shared his personal details, including his M-Pesa PIN, which they then used to wipe the entire amount from his account.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, Kariuki confirmed that indeed the money was stolen by the fraudsters; however, he detailed that the scammers had initially asked for Ksh20,000.
"Yes, it is true, they scammed me out of Ksh 200,000, but it was a mistake. They had asked for Ksh 20,500, but during the transaction process, I mistakenly keyed in Ksh 200,500," Kariuki explained to this reporter.
According to Kariuki, attempts to recover the money have remained futile, as the fraudsters switched off their phone. He also revealed that the M-Pesa message detailing the transaction was deleted.
He disclosed that he is currently engaging the relevant authorities to recover the lost funds.
It is important for Kenyans to be aware of such fraudsters and to note that SHA registration is entirely free. There are three main ways to register: USSD registration (no internet needed), online registration, and employer registration (for businesses).
Kariuki also revealed that the family will be holding a press conference outside Kenyatta National Hospital to provide updates on Boniface’s condition.
The 22-year-old has undergone two surgeries to remove bullet fragments from his head.
Boniface, who was caught in the chaos of the June 17 demonstrations, arrived at KNH’s Accident and Emergency Department at 3:16 PM in a critical state.
