Man cons Isiolo residents with promise of Ruto meeting

More than 200 Isiolo residents are counting losses after they were conned by a man who had promised to help them meet Deputy President William Ruto in Nairobi to discuss the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report.

The furious residents told journalists that they each paid Sh2,300 to cater for transport and printing of T-Shirts on Sunday evening ahead of the journey slated for Monday morning.

However, it dawned on them that they had fallen prey to a conman after they waited for the man, identified as Peter Mwangi, for six hours, with the T-shirts having not been delivered and buses not arriving to pick them up.

The residents said Mr Mwangi had told them the meeting was to discuss the recently released BBI report, as well as strategising on how they would become Dr Ruto’s campaigners for his presidential bid.

David Muthamia, one of the victims, said Mr Mwangi had also promised them that they would each get an allowance of Sh10,000 after the meeting.

“It was such a nice deal and we never thought it would turn out to be fraud. We were to discuss how to support the DP in 2022 campaigns,” said Mr Muthamia, adding that the man approached them with the promise that the meeting would transform their lives.

She said they were to leave at 4 am and, upon enquiry, Mr Mwangi kept insisting that the four hired school buses were being fuelled at a petrol station in the nearby Isiolo town.

“We have been waiting here for more than five hours hoping that the man will turn up but seems it is a fraud,” said the agitated businesswoman.

The group later reported the incident at Isiolo Police Station and called on the officers to track down the suspect and help recover the stolen cash amounting to Sh483,000.

“We are appealing to police to hunt down the suspect for conning us and tarnishing the Deputy President’s name,” Esther Makena, another resident, said.

Initially, most of the victims had shunned speaking to journalists out of disbelief that they had actually been conned.

Contacted, Mr Mwangi claimed that he had been contracted by a welfare group called “Power” to mobilise residents from the county to meet Mr Ruto but the national chairperson, who was to secure the appointment letter, went missing after receiving thousands from all 47 counties.

He further said that they had paid for the buses and denied claims that he had conned the residents, claiming that one of them was the one collecting the cash.