A serial fraudster who has the tendency of masquerading as a UN official was arraigned at Kiambu Law Courts on Tuesday and was charged with four counts related to fraud.
DCI detectives arrested the 34-year-old fraudster at the Namanga border after swindling a Nairobi-based businessman of goods worth Sh11 million.
The suspect identified as Martin Shiamia Matchel is a known crook investigation established has several other pending fraud cases spread across Kenya.
In this particular case, whose genesis is December 2021, Martin posed as a United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) agent and approached a businessman identified as Mohammed with a lucrative offer that would see him become a supplier with the United Nations supplies system.
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Upon successful induction into the system, Mohammed was promised to be paid top dollar for supply for supplying high-grade goods and services.
Martin masquerades as an agent of top decision-makers in the U.N. system and bragged about his knowledge of his way around the corridors of the Nairobi U.N. offices in Gigiri.
To prove his influence, Martin made Mohammed aware of a juicy tender that was to be issued by the UNHCR to supply first-grade rise and asked him to submit his business profile to an email address he gave him the purported belonged to the UNHCR and wait for a response.
True to Martin’s words, Mohammed received positive feedback only a week later that invited him to supply 1,680 sacks of grade-one rice.
Martin then advised Mohammed to supply the rice within the shortest timeframe possible to ensure the tender remained with him drawing his attention to the urgency the rice was meant for relief distribution to hunger-stricken refugees at a camp in South Sudan known as the Nile Camp.
Mohammed was also informed that the conflict in Ethiopia worsened the situation.
Since the whole consignment could not be secured in Kenya, Martin advised Mohammed to import the products at a more affordable price from a neighbouring country Tanzania.
Mohammed saw the sense in Martins's advice and dispatched his son to accompany Martin to Arusha, Tanzania on December 18, 2021, and the duo returned to the country the following day with samples of the rice which would be presented to ‘quality assurance officers’ at the UNHCR for inspection.
Mohammed was later to be informed that his samples were accepted therefore was given the go-ahead to supply his tender.
Mohammed transferred a sum of Sh11 million between December 23, 2021, and December 27, 2021, from his Equity bank account that belongs to Yazeed Company in Tanzania.
On December 22, 2021, one Peris Nyawira, a purported inspection officer of some sort, touched down in Arusha to ensure all was well and the consignment was well packaged.
The goods were packed in three trailers from Yazeed company’s godown in Kahama each truck loaded with 560 bags of rice.
This Nyawira character then requested delivery and invoices from Mohammed via email. She stamped the documents with bogus UNHCR stamps to acknowledge receipt of the goods and declared the goods safe in the UNHCR logistics officer’s hands for onward transmission to South Sudan.
Mohammed was patiently waiting for a month for his payment to go through as instructed, contented with his achievement until a call from Yazeed Company on February 6, 2022, jolted him to the sad reality that he was conned.
The company wanted to know why he sold the rice he bought from them at a such a throwaway price. Apparently, the company received calls from traders who asked if there was more cheap rice from where that came from.
It turned out that the rice was brought and kept in a hired godown in Kasarani from where it was being sold at Sh75 per kilogram which was way too affordable for the Sh105 per kilogram rate Mohammed bought them at and traders wanted to make a kill from the business.
Efforts to reach Martin on his phone turned futile as his calls went unanswered and eventually, he screened Mohammed’s calls.
This prompted Mohammed to walk to the UN offices in Gigiri on February 7, 2022, with the documents of the deal in his hands only to be met by another shocking revelation that the papers he presented were bogus.
The downcast Mohammed reported the matter to the DCI the following day and immediately the DCI detectives launched a manhunt for Martin and his accomplices.
Martin was arrested on Sunday at the Namanga border while he was en route to Tanzania to defraud yet another merchant.
He was arraigned at the Kiambu Law Courts where he faced four charges, namely; conspiracy to defraud, stealing by agent, obtaining goods by false pretences and forgery of UNHCR documents.
The DCI warned members of the public to be wary of such fraudsters.
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