Agent charged with defrauding magistrate Ksh.350,000 in overseas job scam

Charles Onyimbo Monayo appeared before Eldoret Principal Magistrate Kimani Mukabi and pleaded not guilty to the fraud-related charge.

According to the charge sheet, between February 14 and February 17, 2025, at Eldoret Town, and with others not before the court, Monayo, with intent to defraud, obtained Ksh.350,000 from Linet Lusweti.

The court heard that the suspect fleeced the Milimani-based judicial officer by falsely pretending he was in a position to facilitate her sister, Faith Lusweti, to travel to Norway for a job opportunity, a fact he knew to be false.

Lusweti paid Ksh.240,000 into a bank account provided by the accused on February 14, 2025, as a first instalment, on the promise that her sister would be airlifted to Norway within three weeks.  

She cleared the balance of Ksh.110,000 on February 17, 2025 after being assured that travel plans were at an advanced stage.

It is alleged that the suspect later started dodging calls from the judicial officer seeking updates on her sister’s travel.

Monayo was arrested on July 17, 2026, by DCI officers and held at Eldoret Central Police Station following a complaint lodged by Lusweti last month. The officer was forced to travel from her station in Nairobi to file the report.

After pleading not guilty, the accused pleaded for reasonable bond terms. The prosecution did not oppose release on bail and promised to serve him with all documents to be relied on during trial.

In his ruling, Magistrate Mukabi released Monayo on a bond of Ksh.300,000 or an alternative cash bail of Ksh.100,000.

Three key witnesses are lined up to testify: the judicial officer, her sister, and the investigating officer, police constable Francis Anyanzwa of DCI Eldoret.

The matter will be mentioned on August 25, 2026, for a pre-trial conference.