Jonah Kariuki, father of shot mask vendor, Boniface Mwangi says he lost Ksh 200,000 to scammers who posed as SHA officials.
According to the family spokesperson Emily Wanjiru, the persons promised to pay hospital bills, and obtained his Mpesa details before wiping off his account.
Jonah told journalists that he was conned by a caller posing as Eric Omondi, who claimed he and SHA officials would help pay his son’s hospital bills.
The scammer asked for money to register SHA, prompting Jonah to share his M-Pesa PIN. The fraudster then stole funds raised by Kenyans after his son was shot.
Coonfirming that indeed the money was stolen by the fraudsters, Kariuki however, detailed that the scammers had initially asked for Ksh20,000.
“Yes, it is true, they scammed me out of Ksh 200,000, but it was a mistake. They had asked for Ksh 20,500, but during the transaction process, I mistakenly keyed in Ksh 200,500,” Kariuki explained.
According to Kariuki, attempts to recover the money have remained futile, as the fraudsters switched off their phone.
He also revealed that the M-Pesa message detailing the transaction was deleted
He disclosed that he is currently engaging the relevant authorities to recover the lost funds.
Kariuki also revealed that the family will be holding a press conference outside Kenyatta National Hospital to provide updates on Boniface’s condition.
The 22-year-old has undergone two surgeries to remove bullet fragments from his head.
