A third-year student from Kenyatta University has been charged with obtaining food and drinks from a city hotel using fake M-pesa messages.
Emmanuel Bwire was arraigned at the Milimani law courts where he was charged with presenting fake M-pesa messages as proof of payment for food and drinks worth Sh189,000 from Hillpark Hotel in Nairobi. He committed the offenses between December 13 and 16 this year.
During the period, the student is reported to have placed many orders on various days. In the first instance, the accused gave a transaction code to a waitress and a security guard who was posing as the driver as evidence of payment.
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“He ordered drinks worth Ksh28,100 and a delivery fee of Ksh2000. He then requested the waiter to furnish him with the bill so that he can pay through Mpesa. The hotel did not see the message since their Mpesa mobile phone had issues,” a police report reads.
He repeated the same on the second day and ordered food and drink worth Sh47,000 before presenting a fake M-Pesa transaction code.
On the third day, he placed an order for meals and drinks, as well as the transportation charge of Sh51,600. He gave the delivery guy another phony M-pesa message, which prompted him to take a photo of the transaction message.
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When the delivery person was leaving the residence, a lady approached him and cautioned him about the guy, according to the court.
When the waiter arrived at the hotel, he checked for transaction messages. He was surprised to hear, however, that the accused had not transacted with the hotel since he began placing the orders.
He informed his coworkers, including the hotel accountant, who immediately went on the lookout for the gentleman.
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Luck was on their side, as Bwire called again the following day to place an order. This time, he ordered food and drinks worth Sh61,000. Meanwhile, the hotel called the cops, who dispatched an officer to follow the waiter for the delivery. He presented a bogus message, as usual, forcing the officer to arrest him right away.
The defendant pled not guilty to the allegations and requested leniency, alleging that he had been detained for more than 24 hours, which he claimed was a violation of his constitutional rights.
He was released on a Sh50,000 bail.
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