The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) arrested two suspects on Tuesday, October 8 evening in the Bamburi area, Mombasa, for impersonating Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) officers and extorting shop owners.
The suspects, Tabitha Wangeci Kwena and Wycliffe N. Nyamanya, had been masquerading as Consumer Protection Officers from a non-existent agency named Multi-Works & Rights Enforcement.
In a statement on Wednesday, October 9, the EACC said that unsuspecting uniformed police officers accompanied the two while inspecting shops in the Bamburi area, alleging that the shopkeepers were selling expired goods.
"The suspects had reportedly duped the police officers to believe that they were genuine KEBS Officers on official duty requiring police escort in a crackdown on expired goods in Mombasa shops.
"The Commission mounted an operation at Kadzandani Mwatamba Police Station where the arrested shop owners were being detained and extorted. The fraudsters were demanding amounts ranging from Kes.20,000 to Kes.50,000 as a mandatory condition for releasing the victims and returning their confiscated goods," EACC stated.
The operation to arrest the imposters was carried out by EACC at Kadzandani Mwatamba Police Station, where the detained shop owners were being extorted.
Preliminary investigations suggest the duo has been involved in similar illegal activities across other regions in the country.
The suspects were transferred to Mombasa Central Police Station, where they are being held pending arraignment in the Mombasa Anti-Corruption Court at 9:00 a.m. today.
EACC has urged members of the public who may have additional information about the suspects or their accomplices to report through the Commission's toll-free number 1551 or via email at eaccmombasa@integrity.go.ke.
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