A key suspect in the ongoing SIM swap case connected to former police officer in charge, Samson Taalam, has unexpectedly changed his plea from guilty to not guilty, shifting the course of the trial.

Dennis Masavi Musyimi, who had earlier admitted to his role in fraudulently swapping Taalam’s phone line, appeared before Principal Magistrate Dolphina Alego at the Milimani Law Courts where the charges were read to him afresh.

He denied the allegations, which involve the unauthorized replacement of a SIM card that was later used to ask the public for money under false pretenses.

Musyimi is accused of committing the offence between June 16 and June 19 this year, during a time when Taalam’s phone line was held by the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA).

The agency was conducting investigations into Taalam’s involvement in the death of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang, who died while in police custody.

Through his lawyer, Kioko, Musyimi requested for bail on reasonable terms, arguing that his client is a young man, recently out of school and currently working at an M-Pesa shop in Pipeline.

He further told the court that Musyimi is not a flight risk.

In his submission, Kioko also appealed for the review of the bail conditions, highlighting that the two co-accused in the case had already been released on bond.

“The other two accused persons were granted a bond of Sh250,000. We are asking the court to review the terms downwards in fairness,” he told the court.

Kioko also gave background information on the first accused, Nzomo Kimanzi, describing him as a mason, married and a father of two children who are still in school.

He pleaded with the court to consider these circumstances in determining the bond terms.

Despite the defence’s push for more lenient bail, the prosecution asked the court to transfer the matter to Court 7.

“This matter is related to another case pending before Court 7. We request that the file be allocated there for purposes of consolidation,” the prosecutor submitted.

Magistrate Alego agreed to the request and ordered probation officers to prepare a pre-bail report for Musyimi.

The matter will be mentioned again on August 26, 2025, for the report to be tabled and for further directions.

Musyimi is being charged alongside James Mutemi Munyithya and Nzomo Kimanzi. The three face a joint count of computer fraud under Section 26(1) of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act No. 5 of 2018.

Both Munyithya and Kimanzi have pleaded not guilty and are set to face trial.

As the case develops, attention remains on the broader investigation into how the SIM swap was carried out, particularly at a time when the phone line was under the custody of IPOA, raising questions about potential breaches and access to sensitive devices.