Police Tuesday warned the public that Branka International College situated along Mfangano Road, Hakati House in Nairobi is under active investigation following numerous complaints by the institution’s alumni who are crying foul.
In the suspected case of Obtaining Money by False Pretense, a complaint of fraudulent activity against the institution was made at the DCI Nairobi Regional offices on September 2023 and investigations commenced, police said.
It has since been established that the college whose operations kicked off in 2021 is not registered as a training institution, and the proprietors only made several unsuccessful attempts to register it through online Technical and Vocational Education and Training Management Information System (TVET MIS) application portal recently after getting wind of the ongoing investigations.
Further investigations have revealed that the college is only registered as an unspecified business, the nature of it being institution/polytechnic/colleges as per the records held in the Business Registration Service (BRS) database.
Oblivious of the murkiness that lay ahead, numerous unsuspecting students went ahead to enroll for courses at the college, which guaranteed them of job placements in USA, Europe and Australia.
According to investigations, the institution which charges school fees to a tune of Sh350,000 per student only runs the course for one week and upon completion, the students are subjected to a perpetual waiting mode while others are dropped with reasons of not meeting the minimum requirements.
In this classic case of modern-day fraudulence, no refunds are made. An estimated sum of Sh70 million defrauded from victims is in question.
In a bid to intimidate victims who are since demanding for refunds or the agreed upon jobs abroad, the main suspect Ms Teresia Mumbi Kamau and her accomplice Thaitu Ng’ang’a & Associate (an advocate) threaten them with legal suits.
In the ongoing preliminary stages of investigations, the investigating team requested Teresia Mumbi to avail the relevant licenses and documents including accreditation certificate from TVET and proof of partnership, agreement or contracts with USA, Europe and Australia, but in non-compliance, she filed for anticipatory bond application in a High Court.
She has further avoided the institution premises since, police say. “With similar complaints having been reported at Nairobi Central and Kamukunji Police Stations, we call upon any other member of the public that has fallen victim of this fraudulence to report to the office of DCI Regional Headquarters Nairobi,” police said.
DCI cautioned students enrolling for courses in various tertiary level institutions to be wary of the existence of such fraudulence.
The expeditious conclusion of this case is being pursued in a deliberate effort to deliver justice to both the parties.
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