A man accused of hacking into the Jambopay client portal and siphoning Sh49 million was yesterday arraigned before a Nairobi court.
Joseph Momanyi appeared before Milimani Magistrate Ben Mark Ekhumbi, where it was alleged that he breached the Jambopay system and began funnelling the stolen funds to various Safaricom M-Pesa accounts, till numbers, and bank accounts.
Momanyi was arrested on the night of April 12 at his residence in Kahawa West, Nairobi, where police reportedly recovered numerous SIM cards registered under different names, as well as multiple mobile phones and a laptop.
In a sworn affidavit, Inspector Nixon Ngigi stated that Momanyi was apprehended following a complaint lodged by WebTribe Ltd, which operates the Jambopay platform.
“The complainant alleged that on different dates between 19 July 2024 and 23 July 2024, its financial system (Jambopay client portal) was breached by unknown and unauthorised persons who illegally gained access to the system and transferred approximately Sh49,095,968 to different Safaricom mobile numbers (M-Pesa wallets), several bank accounts, and till numbers,” said Ngigi.
He told the court that the intruders disabled the client’s mobile numbers used for One-Time Password (OTP) notifications, thereby enabling the unauthorised transactions.
Preliminary investigations, Ngigi added, revealed that Momanyi allegedly facilitated the breach by recruiting individuals to operate various facets of the fraud.
The court directed that the suspect be held for seven days at Muthaiga Police Station, Nairobi, as police complete their investigations.
The police officer had informed the court that they were seeking 10 days to detain him, noting that the investigations were likely to be lengthy and complex, including subjecting the suspect’s mobile phones and laptop to digital forensic examination.
The same SIM cards recovered from Momanyi’s residence are to be submitted to network providers in order to ascertain their registered users.
“Your Honour, we also want to trace the owners of the said SIM cards for statement recording,” said the officer.
He further stated that Momanyi had been evading arrest and that police intended to use the detention period to confirm his identity through the National Registration Bureau, as he did not have his national identification card at the time of arrest.
Police also believe that Momanyi is part of a larger cartel involved in hacking operations and warned that, if released on bond or bail, he could interfere with investigations and prompt other suspects currently being pursued to flee.
The case will be mentioned on Tuesday, April 22.
