Jane from Kangemi, Nairobi, is among hundreds of poor and gullible Kenyans who have been conned by imposters using Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko’s name.
The con artists pretend to be giving out motorbike gifts but request for some processing fees. Jane (the second name withheld for security reasons) is a house help and earns Sh8,000 a month.
The mother of four has had a desire to uplift her family’s living standards. She thought her life would change for the better when she came across a Facebook post from ‘Governor Sonko’, asking youths to send their details and stand a chance of getting motorbike gifts.
Jane had no idea the account was fake. On Saturday, she narrated her ordeal at the hands of the con man. Such people are heartless and have perfected the art of successfully getting their mission done, she said.
“I have nothing in life and but have children who depend on me. I thought I should try my luck and see if things would change,” she said as tears rolled down her face.
Her tribulations at the hands of the online con gang started on May 30 this year when she sent Sh2,000 processing fee to enable her to get the motorbike.
Not so discerning to notice the early signs of being conned, her hopes remained high. With the motorbike, her life would take a new shape, she thought.
Later, a change in the whole narrative got her suspicious and worried but she never lost hope. The con man, whom she had never set her eyes on, told her not to focus on the motorbike, but instead accept to be his friend.
It did not stop there. The man told her he would come to Kenya, marry her and help her open a “big business”. It is at this point that she questioned the sincerity of the deal. The narrative had changed and the man was not Kenyan anymore. “When he told me all that, I asked how my money had now left the country and demanded that he comes clear on the deal,” Jane recalled.
The man resorted to intimidation tactics, asking her to do as he wanted or lose everything. And because of her desperation, she retained some arrays of hope and obliged. She would later be swayed into some romantic chit-chats that led her to send the man her nude photos and videos. The decision sealed her fate. She had given the man an intimidation tool.
Whenever she brought up the issue of money and the motorbike, he would threaten to release her nude photos and videos on social media. She kept contact with the man, who plotted to con her more and render her poor and helpless. Her attempts to seek help from him when she had hospital bills to foot were met with devastating threats.
It is until her attention was brought to a Facebook post by Governor Sonko warning Kenyans to beware of con people using a fake Facebook account.
The issue is now being handled by the police, and the county has promised to ensure the people behind this malicious act are brought to book. Jane’s case is among 20 others being handled over the same. She reported her case at the Kabete police station under OB number 49/29/6/2019.
Sonko has asked the police to help him finish the trend once and for all. He has told Kenyans to beware of other groups of con men, who are soliciting money in the name of being in a position to help them get jobs with the county.
(Edited by F'Orieny)
