A 23-year-old Tanzanian national has been nabbed while begging for money from unsuspecting Kenyans by posing as a disabled mother in the streets of Kenyan coastal city, Mombasa.
Ibrahim Basafar, the County Inspectorate Deputy Director in charge of operations said the lady was nabbed following a tip off from members of the public on the activities of suspicious group of foreigners around the area.
Basafar said the children caught with the Tanzanian national were not her own children but those ‘rented’ from Kenyan parents.
He said “Our officers have been investigating this syndicate of con artists from Tanzania. We even have a court case against one suspect who traffics them to Mombasa.”
The County inspectorate Deputy Director further revealed that the con woman makes about Ksh 15,000 to Ksh 20,000 (GHS 800 to GHS1,000 ) a day and pays the mother of the child GHS 160 daily.
He warned parents against renting their children as the minors are subjected to harsh conditions.
Basafar said: “The sunlight is harsh, there is dirt and sometimes they are even rained on. These children are 10, 12 and 15 years old.
“We have people at Coast General Hospital who can’t afford medication. They are in pain. These are the people we need to help and not these con men.”
The suspect appeared before Senior Resident Magistrate Rita Amwai and was charged with two counts of obtaining money by false pretense and another of being in the country illegally.
She pleaded guilty to both counts and was sentenced to one year in prison for the charge of obtaining money by false pretense. She was also given an option of paying a fine of Ksh50,000.
On the second count of being in Kenya illegaly, Judge Amwai gave repatriation orders after fulfillment of the first judgement.