A man has been charged at the Makadara Law Courts after pleading guilty to fraudulently refusing to reverse Ksh56,100 sent to his phone.
The man is said to have received a sum of Ksh56,100 from Mohamed Abdulahi on September 11, 2022.
While he was not the intended recipient, he declined to return the money and instead chose to withdraw and use it - prompting the sender to seek legal action.
Njeru was arraigned court after he admitted to the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Mary Njagi.
He pleaded guilty to stealing the money contrary to Section 268 of the penal code as read with Section 275 of the same code.
Further, Section 35 of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act states that if you intentionally fail to reverse or hide electronic payment that was delivered in error which ought to be delivered to the other person, you are liable to a two-year jail term or a Ksh200,000 fine or both.
The Act further states that if you intentionally hide electronic payment, credit and debit card which was delivered in error and which ought to be delivered to the other person is liable to conviction or a fine not exceeding 200, 000 or a term of 2 years.
Abdullahi had mistakenly transferred the money to the phone number from a bank account, however, upon noticing he had transferred to the wrong number he decided to call the mobile service provider and the bank for a reversal but was informed that the money had been withdrawn
After he appeared in Court, he admitted to having received the cash from Mohamed Abdulahi at an unknown place and immediately withdrew the money.
Surprisingly, Abdullahi knew the person he had sent money to, whom he later met at Eastleigh North Police Station where he raised an alarm forcing the suspect to be apprehended and taken in.
Njeru’s phone was recovered and will be used as an exhibit in the case as he awaits the mention
Cases of mobile transactions have also increased despite major telecommunication companies making a progress to address the issue.
Currently, some suspects get away with it as telecommunication companies and banks usually refer victims to report the matter to the police for investigations and prosecution.
