A court on Tuesday ordered that Wazir Benson Masubo Chacha, the man arrested for allegedly swindling several Members of Parliament, be taken to the Mathare Mental Hospital for a mental assessment.
Magistrate Christine Njagi further ordered that Chacha be detained at Central Police Station for four days to allow police to complete investigations into the matter.
He allegedly created fake mobile money accounts in the names of lawmakers such as Murang'a Women Representative Sabina Chege which he then used to solicit funds from other MPs and high-ranking officials.
As a former employee of the Ministry of Devolution, Chacha had reportedly managed to warm his way into the inner circles of lawmakers and other senior government officials.
Chacha was arrested in Tarime, Tanzania over the weekend following a joint operation involving Kenya's Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and Tanzanian law enforcement agencies.
[caption caption="Wazir Benson Masubo Chacha"]
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According to DCI boss George Kinoti, Chacha was on the run headed to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“He will be in Nairobi to face various charges. He was arrested as he tried to sneak to DRC from Tanzania,” Kinoti stated.
In Parliament, at least four legislators, as well as Speaker Justin Muturi, sent money to Chacha as they thought it was Chege who needed the cash immediately.
Cabinet Secretaries Eugene Wamalwa, Peter Munya, Margaret Kobia and various Senators also reportedly fell victim to the scheme.
Masubo also sent two students of Multimedia University to collect Ksh100,000 from former Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo who believed the money was meant for Chege.
[caption caption="DCI Chief George Kinoti"]
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