Four men were Wednesday charged afresh in a case involving the fraudulent replacement of a SIM card belonging to former Central Police OCS Samson Kiprotich Taalam .
The accused Brian Ronoh Kiprotich, Amos Nzomo Kimanzi, James Mutemi Munyithya, and Dennis Masavi Musimi now face 12 counts, including conspiracy to commit a felony, computer fraud, identity theft, and unlawful possession and use of multiple national identity cards.
According to the charge sheet, the men conspired between June 16 and 19, 2025, to fraudulently replace Taalam’s Safaricom SIM card and used it to unlawfully solicit money from members of the public.
Prosecutors said Kiprotich later accessed Talam’s M-Pesa account and withdrew funds using confidential PINs.
The court also heard that Kiprotich was arrested in Embakasi Pipeline on July 20, 2025, in possession of at least seven different identity cards, including those belonging to Elisha Siele, Robert Mwinzi Mulango, Stephen Wambua Mutheki, Nzuva Masila, Geoffrey Kipkoech Rono, Nicholas Ouma Ouma, and Patrick Agesa Muhonja.
Separately, Munyithya was accused of unlawfully using co-accused Kimanzi’s identity card to register a mobile phone line and activate a handset linked to the alleged fraud.
During the bail hearing, lawyer Danstan Omari for Taalam urged the court to revoke the earlier bond terms granted by magistrates Dolphina Alego, warning that releasing the accused would endanger the public.
“This is the first time an exhibit in the hands of IPOA has been accessed in a manner we cannot comprehend,” Omari said.
