A bodaboda rider has been imprisoned by a Court in Mombasa for retaining money mistakenly sent to him through Mpesa.
27-year-old Samuel Mwithiga Wanjiku was on Wednesday, July 18, 2024, sentenced to seven years in prison for retaining a total amount of Ksh200,000 mistakenly deposited into his Mpesa account.
The verdict was delivered by Mombasa Senior Resident Magistrate David Odhiambo following the suspect’s admission of guilt.
Mwithiga had been charged under section 35 of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act of 2018 after he was apprehended by detectives in Nyandarua County and subsequently transferred to Mombasa for trial.
Appearing before the court on Wednesday, the 27-year-old confessed to the committing the crime, narrating that upon receiving the unexpected sum, he misled his family into believing he had won a lottery.
![Mpesa: Man Sentenced for Keeping Money Sent Wrongly](http://thekenyatimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Mombasa-Law-Courts-750x375.jpg)
He then proceeded to use the money to purchase a motorcycle, set up a hair salon for his wife, and generously gifted Ksh50,000 to his mother.
The suspect further admitted that he blocked the sender of the money who he said was frequently calling him demanding for a refund.
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Man who used money sent wrongly to him via Mpesa Sentenced
“After l received the money, I blocked the sender and bought myself a Boda Boda since l had been employed by someone else as a rider, but after my family inquired about the source of the money, l told them l had won a lottery,” Mwithiga told the court
The charges against Wanjiku detailed that on June 14, 2024, in an unspecified location within Kenya, he deliberately and unlawfully withheld electronic payment of Ksh200,000 that was mistakenly sent to his M-Pesa account, intended for Phina Habare Buya.
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The money had originally been transferred by the complainant from Texas, United States of America (USA).
During sentencing, magistrate Odhiambo emphasized the seriousness of Wanjiku’s offense, noting the deliberate nature of his actions and the impact on the intended recipient.
Despite Mwithiga’s remorse and admission of guilt, the court found it necessary to impose a stern penalty to uphold the integrity of financial transactions and deter similar misconduct.
The convict has been given a period of 14 days to lodge an appeal against the sentence.
His case is among a number of incidents which involves people mistakenly sending money to people not intended to receive the funds through Mpesa.
However, telecommunications giant Safaricom provides different ways one can reverse such a transaction.
This include requesting for reversal through the Mpesa app, via sending an SMS to 456, through mySafaricom app or through chatting with Safaricom Zuri
How to request for reversal via SMS to 456
To request for a reversal on 456, please follow this simple guide:
After completing the transaction, please send the whole message to 456. You will receive a response from “Reversal” that the request for a reversal has been started, and that an update will be shared within 2 hours.
You are encouraged to check your messages for an update from the header “Reversal” on the status of the reversal.
How to request for an Mpesa reversal on the mySafaricom APP
First, the transaction must be done by the customer himself/herself and must have been done using the mySafaricom app.
After completing the transaction, tap on the Reverse transaction icon. You will be asked to confirm if you want to raise a reversal request.
You will be notified that the reversal request has been received for processing and feedback will be received within 2 minutes then receive a message from “Reversal” updating you that the reversal request has been started.
Follow-up with the recipient will be done and feedback will be shared within 2 hours.
You are encouraged to check your messages for an update from the header “Reversal”.
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![Mpesa: Man Sentenced for Keeping Money Sent Wrongly](http://thekenyatimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Safaricom-ceo-PN-750x375.jpg)
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