How suspected fraudster impersonated KDF officer to lure desperate job seekers
A suspected fraudster who was arrested allegedly in the process of conning youths seeking employment with the Kenya Forestry Service (KFS) has been charged with impersonation.
Paul Maina Kirera was arrested at the KFS headquarters in Karura along Kiambu road in Nairobi where he had allegedly introduced himself as a Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) officer of the rank of Brigadier to security officers at the highly guarded offices on February 24, 2023.
Mr Kirera was charged with personating a public officer contrary to section 105 (b) of the penal code after allegedly telling KFS’ chief inspector Charles Kimeli that he is a public officer employed by the KDF.
He is facing three similar counts of personation where he is accused of falsely presenting himself as a brigadier to three different KFS security officers at the gate on the same date.
Mr Kirera was also charged with uttering a false document contrary to section 353 of the penal code where he is accused of a fake KDF staff card to Mr Kimeli purporting it to be a genuine KDF staff card issued by the KDF.
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The suspect is also facing a charge of making a document without authority contrary to section 357 (a) of the penal code where he is accused of making a KDF identity card without lawful authority while purporting the same to be a genuine card issued by the KDF.
Mr Kirera was also charged with forgery contrary to section 345 as read with section 349 of the penal code where he is accused of forging a KDF identity card with intention to defraud, purporting it to be a genuine card issued by the KDF.
The accused person was arrested by the KFS officers at the institution’s headquarters on suspicion that he was out on illegal activities at the offices. He had been allowed in after allegedly presenting the fake KDF identity card, parked in the compound then started moving from one office to another.
Mr Kirera had informed one of the security officers at the main gate that he is one of the staffers at the offices and was allowed in when he was later asked to explain what he was doing in various offices.
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The KFS officers escorted him to his car which they searched and recovered photocopies of academic certificates, curriculum vitae (CVs) belonging to various people and two mobile phones.
He is suspected to have obtained the academic certificates of people looking for employment with KFS in the recruitment exercise held on March 8, 2023. The matter was reported to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and officers from Starehe DCI offices took over the matter.
The suspect collapsed after he was arrested and was escorted to a missionary hospital in Pangani before he was transferred to the Kenyatta National Hospital in critical condition. He was rearrested at the hospital after he was discharged on March 8, 2023.
Mr Kirera denied the charges before Makadara Chief Magistrate Francis Kyambia and pleaded for lenient bail terms claiming he is sickly. He was freed on a bond of Sh100,000 and a cash bail of a similar amount. The matter will be mentioned on June 13, 2023 before hearing starts on July 5, 2023.
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