Three men were arrested outside Kahawa Barracks in Nairobi for impersonating Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) officers and conning a man of Ksh 350,000.
A police report seen by Kenyans.co.ke dated Monday, April 6, identified the three men as Elisha Onyango, Derrick Nyakundi and Amos Mutuku.
Acting on a tip-off from members of the public, the police arrested the three following a covert operation. The trio is accused of conning a citizen identified as Mbabu John Ksh350,000 after promising to help enroll his son into the military.
"They are to be charged with offence of obtaining money by false pretences. They obtained Ksh 350,000 from one Mbabu John claiming they were in a position to recruit his son into the KDF. A recruitment letter to the effect has been recovered.
"Elisha Onyango, who was found donning a full military uniform, will be charged with impersonation and being in possession of government property after being found donning senior military officer uniform having a rank of military Major," read the statement in part.
They were found with admission letters for KDF that bore letterheads of the Ministry of Defence.
Some of the admission letters had names of individuals that had reportedly been admitted to Eldoret Military Base among others.
Angry residents of Kahawa area were ready to lynch the suspects but police officers arrived in time and intervened.
They were taken to Kasarani Police Station and are awaiting arraignment in court.
There have been several complaints and reports of KDF impersonation over the last few months due to the recently concluded recruitment exercise that targeted 4,000 new recruits.
Towards the end of February, a recruit was arrested after inscribing Ksh300 mark on the inside of his foot with the intention to bribe officers.
The man had gone to try his luck during the recruitment exercise held in Kombewa in Seme Sub-County, Kisumu County.
Police officers also confirmed that the recruit was accompanied by his mother, who was also arrested.
The recruit was charged with attempted bribery.
