A Nairobi court has ordered the detention of three men in connection with a sophisticated cyber fraud scheme that resulted in the theft of over Ksh.10 million from Safaricom Sacco’s account at the Cooperative Bank of Kenya.
The suspects, Eric Munene Kaburu, Dennis Jerah Ombogo, and Morris Muriithi Mugambi are accused of executing unauthorized transfers of Ksh.10,476,550 into multiple bank and M-PESA accounts in what investigators believe was a coordinated cybercrime operation.
The case was brought to light after Stephen Mudibo, the Chief Operations Officer at Safaricom Sacco, lodged a formal complaint. According to court documents, the Sacco was alerted by Cooperative Bank, which sought confirmation of several suspicious transactions from the Sacco’s account.
The complainant told the court that an internal audit revealed the funds had been fraudulently moved and confirmed that the transactions were not authorized.
The Sacco immediately requested the bank to freeze the affected accounts and called a crisis meeting to assess the situation and prevent further loss.
Following the discovery of the breach, Safaricom Sacco also temporarily suspended some services to mitigate risks while investigations were launched to trace and recover the lost funds.
The court heard that through information shared by Cooperative Bank, it was established that the money had been transferred from the Sacco’s account to several other bank accounts fraudulently.
Eric Munene Kaburu was arrested on May 27, 2025, at a mall parking area in Nairobi. His co-accused, Dennis Jerah Ombogo and Morris Muriithi Mugambi, were later apprehended on the same day at a lodging facility near the Namanga border.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has requested the court to authorize forensic analysis of mobile phones recovered from the suspects, which are believed to have been used during the execution of the crime. The DPP also asked the court to allow searches of the suspects’ residences, citing the possibility of uncovering digital infrastructure used to facilitate the fraud.
The prosecution believes the suspects may have established electronic systems in their homes to carry out the cybercrime and that access to these premises will be crucial in gathering further evidence.
Investigations are ongoing as authorities work to track down the stolen funds and identify any additional accomplices involved in the incident.
