A family from Kangoya village in Kiambu County, has pleaded with the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs to help secure the release of their son from a United Arab Emirates (UAE) jail.
In an interview with NTV, the family claimed that their son, James Kariuki Thiong'o, had been imprisoned in Dubai for electronic fraud committed by an unknown individual using his identity.
Kariuki, now aged 40, left Kenya for Dubai in 2012 to look for work. He survived on casual work as a security guard for nearly seven years, but returned home in early 2019 after his dreams failed to materialise.
Back in Kenya, the family shared, he struggled to settle, as job opportunities were scarce and life was difficult.
“He was frustrated that the dreams he had when he left Kenya for Dubai had not materialized. He had hoped to have a family, but that too failed. Some of his agemates had progressed in life, and it troubled him to be seen as a man who had lived abroad for years only to return home with nothing. He decided to go back to Dubai and try his luck again,” his father, John Thiongo, said.
On February 5, 2020, Kariuki made the bold move to return to Dubai. But what was meant to be a second chance turned into a nightmare that has now seen him spend nearly six years in jail.
According to his family, shortly after arriving in Dubai, Kariuki began searching for work when he came across a job poster.
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“He told us that the person posing as a recruiter was a Nigerian national who asked him to leave his documents behind and promised to call him later for an interview. That call never came. Instead, the documents were later used by fraudsters to commit identity theft and defraud unsuspecting people in Dubai,” Thiongo added.
On August 13, 2020, Kariuki was arrested and accused of electronic fraud amounting to AED 1.18 million (about Ksh41.7 million at current exchange rates).
“He denied any involvement and explained what had happened, that he was simply looking for a job when he encountered the fake recruiter. Unknown to him, his documents were used in the fraud,” Mr. Thiongo said, citing court proceedings shared by advocate Jumah Maleh, who is offering free legal services to Kariuki in the UAE.
Second Case
Kariuki was sentenced by a UAE court in Sharjah to one year in jail followed by immediate deportation. But just when he was hopeful of returning home, fresh trouble struck. While still serving his term, investigators linked him to another fraud involving AED 2 million (about Sh70.1 million).
The scheme involved creating fake email addresses resembling those of established financial institutions. In the scheme, customers were tricked into clicking links, allowing fraudsters to empty their accounts.
Kariuki told the court he could not have been involved since he was already in jail when the crime occurred. Prosecutors, however, argued that he was indirectly linked to the scam and was working with a network of fraudsters even while behind bars.
The family insists that Kariuki is innocent and merely a victim of identity theft. Prosecutors, on the other hand, maintain that Kariuki is a fraudster who colluded with criminals both inside and outside prison.
