Dennis Masavi Musyimi,a man linked to a SIM swap fraud scheme has confessed in court to tricking people out of their money by impersonating a senior police officer.

The suspect admitted that on June 16, 2025, he fraudulently secured a mobile line belonging to former Nairobi OCS, Samson Kiprotich Talam.

Investigators said he posed as the rightful owner and convinced a mobile operator to replace the SIM card.

Once activated, the line was used to send out false appeals for money, which unsuspecting members of the public sent, believing they were helping the officer.

Musyimi is not alone in the case. He appeared before the court alongside two others, Amos Nzomo Kimanzi and James Mutemi Munyithya, who denied taking part in the fraud and are now headed for a full trial.

The three were jointly charged under the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act for conspiring to commit fraud between June 16 and June 19.

The charges against the two co-accused paint a picture of a wider criminal operation. Munyithya, for instance, is accused of using another person’s identity to register a new SIM card.

Prosecutors told the court that he fraudulently presented Kimanzi’s national ID to activate a mobile line and link it to a device investigators later tied to the scam. Kimanzi himself was not spared, with prosecutors alleging he knowingly allowed his ID card to be misused for fraudulent purposes.

On top of the conspiracy charge, Musyimi also faced a separate count of obtaining registration by false pretence. The prosecution said his impersonation of the retired officer to secure a SIM replacement was not just fraudulent but also criminal under the Penal Code.

Prosecutors believe the three men are part of a much larger syndicate operating in SIM swap and identity theft crimes. Authorities say investigations are ongoing, with more suspects thought to be on the run. The case has once again highlighted growing concerns about cyber-enabled fraud in Kenya, where criminals exploit mobile services to target unsuspecting citizens.