Kenyans have lost money to conmen from time immemorial, but in the recent past, people have been complaining of having lost their hard-earned cash to conmen using Deputy President Ruto's name.
The number of people who have been conned using the name of the DP has caused alarm with the police force.
Ruto's office, in a report shared by Saturday Nation on January 4, asked those who had fallen prey to the conmen to report the matter to police stations for a follow-up.
“Ruto is a public servant and access to him is absolutely free. In fact, it is every Kenyan’s right to see the DP. There have been cases of people allegedly asking for money to (enable them) to see him. That is criminal. Any member of the public who has been conned should report to the police or the DP’s office,” Ruto’s Press Secretary Emmanuel Talam was quoted.
Earlier in the week, a conman in Isiolo collected over Ksh483,000 from gullible Kenyans after promising them a trip to visit the deputy president at his official residence in Karen.
Each gave Ksh2,300; Ksh1,100 for a Ruto-branded T-shirt and Ksh1,200 for transport.
They had been told that after meeting the DP on Monday, each would be given Ksh10,000 allowance. The deal sounded irresistible to many.
The group was to meet at an Isiolo hotel on Sunday, December 29, to plan for the trip which would begin on Monday at 4 am. The meeting took place, they paid the money and were to receive T-shirts on Monday morning before the journey began. It was not to be.
Those who paid found themselves stranded, cheated and demanding answers. The crowd waited for more than six hours before accepting that they had been conned.
Some claimed that they had even borrowed money from their friends in order to meet the DP and earn the Ksh 10,000 hand out.
