By Rhoda Bogeta
A Nairobi court has released two men accused of involvement in a cybercrime scheme linked to fake promises to alter Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results.
Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina on Monday rejected an application by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) seeking to detain the suspects for 14 days to allow further investigations.
Instead, the court ordered that the two be released on a cash bail of Sh70,000 each, pending the conclusion of investigations.
The suspects are David Opiyo Odhiambo and Albert Kerry Nyandianga, who are under probe for false publication and obtaining money by false pretences.
In his ruling, the magistrate directed the duo to cooperate with investigators and to present themselves before DCI officers whenever required.
The court was hearing a miscellaneous application filed by the DCI’s General Investigations Unit seeking custodial orders against the two.
According to the investigators, the suspects allegedly operated multiple WhatsApp and Telegram groups with a combined following of more than 42,000 members.
Through the groups, they are said to have falsely claimed to have links within the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) and promised to alter KCSE results in exchange for money, with the charges allegedly varying depending on the grade sought.
Police further allege that the suspects circulated images of KNEC offices and screenshots purported to be from the KNEC grading portal to convince members of the public that they were genuine insiders.
Through investigating officer John Kariuki, the DCI told the court that the two are administrators of the social media platforms under investigation and that their release could interfere with ongoing inquiries.
The court heard that detectives tracked the suspects to the Nyanza region, leading to the arrest of the second respondent in Migingo, Kisumu County, where he was allegedly in hiding.
The first respondent was arrested in Ongata Rongai, Kajiado County.
At the time of arrest, officers reportedly seized several electronic devices, including Nokia C32 and Tecno CM5 mobile phones, as well as an HP EliteBook laptop, which were allegedly logged into the Telegram and WhatsApp groups under investigation.
Investigators believe the devices contain extensive data linked to the 2024 KCSE examinations.
The DCI also sought more time to subject the seized gadgets to forensic analysis and to carry out searches at premises in Nairobi, Rongai, Kiambu and Thika, believed to be connected to accomplices who are still at large.
Police further argued that the suspects posed a flight risk, citing the proximity of their residences to the Kenya–Tanzania border.
They maintained that releasing the suspects could hamper efforts to finalise investigations and prefer charges.
Kariuki told the court that the request for custodial orders was not meant to punish the suspects but to allow investigators adequate time to extract and analyse electronic evidence, including M-Pesa transaction records, some of which are still awaited from Safaricom PLC following earlier court orders.
The matter will be mentioned on February 2.
