A Nairobi court has granted the prosecution an additional three days to complete investigations into a suspect accused of using the mobile phone of former Central Police Station OCS Samson Kiprotich Taalam to defraud his family members and lawyer.
The suspect, Kiprotich Ronoh Brian, has been held in police custody for the past seven days following an earlier court order allowing investigators more time to probe allegations of unauthorized communication.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Ronoh is under investigation for unauthorized interception of communication, identity theft, and involvement in organized crime.
The case stems from a complaint filed with the DCI on June 19, 2025, by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), which reported suspicious activity involving mobile phone numbers belonging to the former OCS. The phones in question had been seized by IPOA as part of an ongoing forensic audit.
Taalam, who is currently under investigation himself, reported that while his phone was in IPOA custody, it was being used to solicit money from the public, including his own relatives and legal representatives.
𝘓𝘢𝘸𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯 𝘖𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘖𝘊𝘚 𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘛𝘢𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘪𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘙𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘩 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘥 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘦
Prosecutors claim that Ronoh illegally swapped Taalam’s SIM card and used it to impersonate the former officer, orchestrating fraudulent schemes under his name.
The DCI argued that releasing the suspect at this stage would compromise ongoing investigations, suggesting he might tamper with evidence or intimidate witnesses.
While the prosecution requested a further seven-day extension to retrieve Taalam’s call data from mobile service provider Safaricom, Senior Magistrate Carolyne Mugo declined to grant the full request. She noted that the investigators had already been given a week and failed to justify how Ronoh’s continued detention would directly assist in retrieving the call data.
Instead, the magistrate allowed only a three-day extension and warned that if investigations are not concluded within that period, the court will proceed to consider bail for the suspect.
The matter is scheduled for mention on July 31, 2025.
