A university dropout accused of hacking and stealing millions from a betting company has been released on cash bail.
On September 3, a Nairobi court rejected a request to keep Seth Mwabe Okwanyo, a university dropout and cybersecurity consultant, in jail for longer.
In his ruling, Magistrate Benmark Ekhubi instead gave Okwanyo a Ksh1 million bond or Ksh500,000 cash bail.
Okwanyo is accused of a Ksh11.4 million cyber fraud against a betting company.
In his defence, Okwanyo, a self-trained cybersecurity engineer, claimed that he was testing a software he had developed.
He told the court that he was surprised when the money ended up in his account, saying he did not do it intentionally.
In his ruling, the magistrate said the prosecution's request to hold Okwanyo for 20 more days was not strong enough.
The investigator told the court that Okwanyo used his IT skills and a fake Telegram bot to steal millions through many transactions on the Pesalink platform.
Okwanyo was arrested at a Tatu City apartment on August 30, 2025, by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations(DCI) and charged under the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act.
Ekhubi warned Okwanyo not to interfere with the investigation during this time.
"I therefore ask you not to in any way interfere with the investigations. If you interfere, you will be breaching the condition of your bond," he said.
The case remains under investigation, and more details are expected to emerge as the trial continues in the coming weeks.
