Malindi traders seek arrest of M-Pesa agent over alleged Sh10 million fraud

Malindi traders seek arrest of M-Pesa agent over alleged Sh10 million fraud - Locals outside the Malindi Police Station in Malindi town, Kilifi County. The traders are seeking the arrest of an M-Pesa agent over alleged Sh10 million fraud. (Photo: Courtesy)

The traders allege that Rahma Seif Albusaid received the money between August and September but failed to complete the transactions, leaving them counting losses running into millions of shillings.

Traders in Malindi, Kilifi County, are demanding swift police investigations after accusing an M-Pesa agent of allegedly obtaining Sh10 million from them in transactions that they say were meant to top up their mobile money float.

The traders allege that Rahma Seif Albusaid received the money between August and September but failed to complete the transactions, leaving them counting losses running into millions of shillings.

They say they reported the matter to Malindi police three weeks ago but are yet to see the suspect arrested.

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They have also appealed to Safaricom to help trace her, claiming she switched off her phone.

Abdulkarim Alhamudi, one of the complainants, said the traders had repeatedly visited the police station seeking action, without getting the assistance they expected.

“This is the third week we are visiting the police station, but we have not received any help in apprehending the suspect. We are calling on Safaricom M-Pesa to help us track her so that we can recover our money,” he said.

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The traders say the losses differ from one complainant to another, with some claiming to have lost more than Sh1.2 million, while others put their losses at between Sh600,000 and Sh1 million.

Twaif Mohamed said he discovered that several other business people had reported similar complaints when he went to Malindi police station to file his report.

He said the affected traders had been issued with Occurrence Book numbers and urged investigators to speed up efforts to locate the suspect.

“Already we have reported the matter, and we have OB numbers, and we are calling on the police to act with speed and help us find this person,” he said.

The complainants want investigators to establish what happened to the money and pursue its recovery. They have also called on Safaricom to assist in tracing the agent.

Malindi Sub-County Police Commander Moses Kosgei confirmed that police had received several complaints over the matter.

He said the suspect was still at large and officers were following leads to secure her arrest.