Fake DCI forensics officer nabbed offering tape-lifting services on Kiambu Road; 19 logbooks recovered

A middle-aged man has been charged with impersonating a Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) forensics expert and offering tape-lifting services to motorists at Kiambu Road's Ridgeways Centre.

Tape lifting is a process through which the DCI verifies the chassis number and the engine number of a vehicle to confirm whether they match the details provided in its registration documents, helping to prevent vehicle theft and fraud.

Manace Otieno Ayata was presented before the Kahawa Law Courts on Friday, where he was released on a Ksh.500,000 bond with a surety of a similar amount, or alternatively, a cash bail of Ksh.100,000.

Ayata was apprehended by police on February 13, after a motorist, who had just bought a car for himself as a Valentine’s Day gift and wanted to have the vehicle’s chassis and engine numbers verified, sought his services after the seller directed him to Ayata, claiming he worked at the DCI Headquarters.

“Having agreed that he calls Ayata after arriving at the main entrance, the reportee drove all the way but on arrival at the gate failed to reach Ayata on phone. He therefore sought guidance from the security personnel who directed him to the Forensic Lab, where he hoped to meet "detective Ayata",” the DCI said in an X statement on Saturday.

After several failed attempts to contact Ayata, the motorist approached a real Chief Inspector of Police, who was also offering tape-lift services in the parking yard, and informed him that he had an appointment with Ayata.

“Taking it upon himself to find out who Manace Otieno Ayata was, the officer made numerous calls to colleagues but none happened to have ever heard of Ayata in the department or anywhere within the Headquarters,” said the DCI.

“But as fate would have it, Ayata, who happened to have stepped away from his phone, called back, right on cue for a showdown with real hawkshaws. The car owner, who by then knew he had been dealing with a con artist, pretended to be still interested in the service.”

Ayata explained to the motorist that he had stepped away from the office but could still meet the motorist at Ridgeways Centre, to offer the tape-lifting service. The DCI officer and the motorist decided to play along.

“Careful not to put the reportee's vehicle in the line of a police operation, the detectives drove with the reportee to the agreed location in a government vehicle (a Subaru), to find an overly money-minded Ayata who immediately folded his sleeves to start whatever job he would have done with the reportee's car,” said the DCI.

But before Ayata could do anything, police officers swooped in and arrested him.

“Stretching out his hand for a spanner after opening the car's hood, Ayata's heart sunk on feeling some cold cuffs massage his wrist. As one waking up from a chloroformic slumber, he realized that the vehicle had a glaring GK sticker right in his eyes,” said the DCI.  

Upon conducting a search, detectives recovered 19 vehicle logbooks, 35 tape-lift reports, assorted driving licenses and National Identification cards from the suspect.

“A team of Serious Crimes detectives have launched a thorough probe into the case, as it is believed that the suspect could be a member of a larger organized criminal ring linked to motor vehicle theft,” said the DCI.

Ayata’s case has been scheduled for mention on February 28, 2025.