Kenyan Imam on the run after conning Muslim worshippers in Hajj travel scam

A group of Muslims from across the country are crying foul after allegedly being defrauded by an Imam identified as Ustadh Omar Athman in a failed plan to facilitate their pilgrimage to Mecca for Hajj and Umrah.

The victims, from different parts of Kenya, say they handed over hundreds of thousands of shillings to the Imam Omar who then disappeared days before their departure.

It was a promise of a lifetime - an opportunity to visit the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah - when Imam Omar Athman allegedly called Mariam Juma with an offer too good to ignore; Umrah Visas for just Ksh.200,000. An Umrah Visa is a special permit that allows Muslims to make a pilgrimage.

“Tumekaa, Ramadhani tumefunga wiki ya pili ndiyo tunaingia wiki ya tatu, ahh! Tunaondoka lini, hatuna habari, hatujui tunatakiwa nini, mambo yamebadilika Makkah, hatujui ni sindano gani tunatakiwa, mbona hatujibu simu, hachukui,” laments Juma.

Juma was not alone. Mariam Mohamed Ahmed claims she sent Imam Omar Ksh.360,000. Her friend, Barke Atieno Abdalla, who introduced her to the Imam, also fell victim, sending him a total of Ksh.640,000 via bank transfer through her daughter.

Determined, Mariam Juma tracked Imam Omar’s sister to Malindi where the Imam is known to preach at Al-Ihsan Mosque in the town

“Nawaambia mimi nimekuja na amani, jamani nirudishieni pesa zangu, akaniambia kwani uliambiwa hutarudishiwa? Mbona unazungumza mambo mengi hivi…sijazungumza mambo mengi, nimekuja kwenu mimi, nataka pesa zangu, niko katikati ya nyumba yenu, sitaki vita, niko peke yangu sina chochote,” said Juma.

She, alongside seven other victims of the Imam's fraud, have since recorded statements at the Lang’ata Police Station and obtained an OB number.

Hussein Hassan Ali Omar, from Nakuru, is another victim. He says Omar lured him into investing with him back in 2020 in facilitating an Umrah trip for Muslims. Hussein invested Ksh.300,000, while his colleague invested Ksh.200,000.

“I started getting calls from other people who have been paying him to go Umrah, yet he has not been facilitating. Older women who have been struggling to save selling viazi and sewing then this gentleman…I won’t call him gentleman, he is a conman…he promises to take them but never shows up,” narrates Hussein.

What triggered the victims even more was seeing a new Umrah trip ad on Omar’s WhatsApp status, raising fears that more unsuspecting Kenyans may fall victim.

For now, Omar’s phone remains off. His victims, left with mounting financial losses and doubts about a man who ideally, would have been beyond question in their eyes. They want swift action against him and towards the return of their monies.