Three detained over Ksh10M theft from Safaricom Sacco bank account

A Nairobi court has ordered the detention of three men in connection with a sophisticated cyber fraud that allegedly resulted in the theft of Ksh.10 million from Safaricom Sacco.

The suspects; Eric Munene Kaburu, Dennis Jerah Ombogo and Morris Muriithi Mugambi are accused of orchestrating the unauthorized transfer of funds from the Sacco’s account at the Cooperative Bank of Kenya into multiple other bank accounts.

"The complainant alleges that they did their internal checks and confirmed that the money amounting to Ksh.10,476,5501 had been stolen from the account held at Cooperative bank whereby it was transferred to other bank accounts and Mpesa account numbers," the court was told.

The incident came to light following a formal complaint by Stephen Mudibo, the Chief Operations Officer at Safaricom Sacco Limited.

According to court papers, the Sacco was alerted by Cooperative Bank after the financial institution sought confirmation for several suspicious transactions initiated from the Sacco’s account.

"The complainant alleged that they discovered the fraud through an email from Cooperative bank on request for confirmation of some suspicious transactions that had taken place at their Sacco bank account held at Cooperative bank," reads court papers.

An internal probe launched by Safaricom Sacco confirmed that the transactions were fraudulent.

The Sacco promptly requested the bank to freeze the affected accounts and convened a crisis meeting to assess the breach and mitigate further risks.

"In response to the suspected cyberattack, the Sacco confirmed the transactions were not authorized and took immediate steps to prevent further loss," reads part of the miscellaneous application submitted to the court.

As a precautionary measure, Safaricom Sacco temporarily suspended some of its services while investigations into the incident intensified, with efforts focused on tracing and recovering the lost funds.

"Through the information shared by Cooperative bank, the respondent herein, it was established that the money was transferred from the Salaricom Sacco account to several other bank account numbers fraudulently," the court further heard.

Eric Munene Kaburu was arrested on May 27, 2025, in a mall parking area in Nairobi. His alleged accomplices, Dennis Jerah Ombogo and Morris Muriithi Mugambi, were captured later the same day at a lodging facility near the Namanga border.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) requested the court to authorize forensic analysis of several mobile phones recovered from the suspects, which are believed to have been used in the execution of the cybercrime.

Additionally, the DPP said that the custodial order will facilitate comprehensive searches of the suspects' residences.

Investigators suspect the existence of computer systems at those locations that were potentially used to conduct the electronic fraud.

“The prosecution believes that the accused had established digital infrastructure in their homes to facilitate cybercrime. Access to these premises is crucial for gathering further evidence,” stated the DPP’s application.