Three men alleged to be part of a criminal syndicate involved in illegally unlocking M-Kopa phones before customers had cleared their loans have been charged with multiple counts of theft and handling stolen goods.
The accused; Jeremiah Njoroge, Marvine Wanguno, and Victor Kimani appeared before the Milimani Law Courts, where they denied five charges of stealing and handling suspected stolen property.
According to court documents, on August 4, 2025, at Intermac Business Center in Nairobi, the trio allegedly stole six mobile phones including Samsung A13, Samsung A12, Samsung A03s, Samsung S24, another Samsung A13, and Nokia GS0 valued at KSh 800,000, belonging to M-Kopa Kenya Limited.
They are also accused, in a separate count, of stealing three more phones on the same day a Samsung Note 20 Ultra, a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, and a Samsung Note 20 worth KSh 1 million, owned by Mophone Kenya Limited.
In addition, they face an alternative charge of handling stolen goods, contrary to Section 322(1) as read with Section 322(2) of the Penal Code. The charge states that they were found with four mobile phones a Samsung A04s, Samsung A05, and two Samsung A03s valued at KSh 1.2 million and belonging to Watu Credit, knowing or having reason to believe the items were stolen.
Police say the suspects were caught with five M-Kopa phones of various models in the process of being unlawfully unlocked. They were arrested at a shop along Tom Mboya Street after a tip-off.
Their defence lawyers urged the court to review the proposed KSh 1 million cash bail, terming it excessive, and sought a pre-bail report.
Magistrate Dolphina Alego granted each accused person a bond of KSh 2 million or an alternative cash bail of KSh 1 million. The case is set for pre-trial mention on August 27, 2025.
