Police have warned residents of Limuru constituency in Kiambu county and its environs to be careful while handling Sh1,000 notes after officers confiscated Sh789,000 fake notes on Wednesday.
Area police boss Mohammed Bakuli yesterday said the fake Sh1,000 notes were stashed in polythene paper bags and hidden in a garbage pit in a plot in Rironi village.
Bakuli said residents who found the money called the area assistant chief Charles Njehu, who informed the police about the stash.
“We are appealing to members of the public to be careful while handling Sh1,000 notes since we are not sure if the money has been in circulation. So far we have not received any complaint,” Bakuli said.
Shopkeeper Nancy Waithera alleged she was conned by a man who asked her to give him loose money in exchange for a Sh1,000 note.
“Three gentlemen came to my shop discussing how they should divide money they had. One requested loose change of Sh1,000 and I gave them,” she said.
“I realised after several minutes when I counted the money again in the counter that the note was fake.”
Archbishop Gerishon Njoroge of the Wings of Life Gospel Church International asked the government to investigate the source of the fake money, saying many people have been conned while dealing with a huge amount of money.
“When you are selling animals like cows, fake notes are stashed between the real notes. A member of my church told me she sold a cow at Sh50,000 and she realised the following day that Sh8,000 in form of Sh1,000 notes were fake,” Njoroge said.
Njehu said the money was recovered by county officers who were collecting garbage, and they called the public when they saw the cash.
