Inside the Kamiti Maximum Prison 'call center'

Located at the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison in Nairobi, this illegal call centre operated by convicts is a den of thriving criminality.

Close to 2500  convicts are confined here and a deeper dive shows a life of continued crime that affects the outside world in a heavy dose of irony. 

How a convict commits a crime while behind these four walls in Kenya's most dreaded prison is where advancement in technology and criminality converge, and you actually might have been a target at some point.

“Trick ni una draft message kwa number 1000, unaanza na 0720 mpaka ya mwisho. Itapata mtu amekufa au mteja lakini haukosi kunasa mtu,” an informer tells Citizen TV’s Lulu Hassan.  

At a particular ‘Block A’ within the prison, it is a flurry of activity that would make you mistake it for a call center. Each one of the convicts attending to their ‘clients’.

This is a fully-fledged industrial park of sorts with clear workflows, the source tells Hassan, in order for one to access this area you must never be idle, lest you are labeled a traitor. 

 A walk down the streets of downtown Nairobi, where the ‘call agents’ get their handsets, lands one to a particular model that is a hotcake to the prisoners.

The handset by China-based manufacturer Itel boasts of unique features that fit well with the needs of their conning empire; the magic voice. With this, one can alter their voice during a phone call to make them sound like a man, woman, or child.

David Tett, one of the inmates serving a 15-year term, has mastered the art of the game and even fakes a foereign accent.

He forges a relationship with his client on the phone, plays along until he starts soliciting money.

“Ikifika hapo anamuambia amefika Lodwar amekwama hana mafuta na ako na MasterCard, hana cash,” the source says.

Once you send the money, that marks the beginning of your newfound relationship with the foreigner.

Receiving strange messages is a norm to many Kenyans, many of whom do not give much thought into it. Such texts as: ‘Hello Madam Grace, I have sent 4.8 million via Western Union REF No. xxxx.

These are engineered behind this ‘call center’ and eventually land the inmates prey out of the many recipients who are cautious enough to ignore the calls to send money to unknown people.

However, it is not only Kenyans who fall prey, many Somalis from Mogadishu, Somaliland, Puntland, and Kismayo fall prey and send thousands if not millions, in the name of securing their future in search of  greener pastures. 

As the country grapples with unemployment amongst the youth, activities like this would excite the inmates and prison warders too.

Our source indicates that each warder at this particular block pockets about Ksh.5000 a day and once they make a kill from their victims, the party goes on and on with some doing drugs.

The rest who were not so lucky today are busy on their phones hunting for the next victim; it just takes one listening ear to have their catch. But what is it like when you are on the receiving end?

One of the victims of the scam says gullible Kenyans are duped into believing that they are being called by local radio stations to claim their prizes, and in the blink of an eye, the scammers have  withdrawn  your money from the ATM.

It turns out that they have their people who are on standby ready to withdraw following the information given in real time.