Man Behind Viral Ongata Rongai Video Speaks on Fraud Arrest Controversy

New details show that police were effecting an arrest in the viral video from Ongata Rongai, showing a man being bundled into a saloon car on Friday, January 10. The video looked eerily similar to videos surfacing online, showing alleged abduction cases.

According to police, the man who was seen being forcefully thrown into the car along Magadi Road near the Barclays area of Rongai is said to have been caught attempting to rob an MPESA shop.

According to police, the man, whom we will only identify as Duke, is in custody at the Ongata Rongai Police Station awaiting arraignment.

CCTV footage gathered by Citizen TV shows Duke attempting to defraud an MPESA shop opposite, located near the Tumaini area. In the footage, the suspect can be seen walking to the shop at around 12:30pm, while talking on the phone.

Duke then hands the phone to the agent, asking him to speak with the person on the other end of the line. The person on the other end of the line identified himself as a customer care agent and was working with Duke to assist him in retrieving money from his account.

However, the MPESA agent suspected all was not right and called for help. One of the nearby businessmen came to his aid, and they waited for officers.

“Someone came in and told me that he wanted me to talk with customer care. I picked up the phone and started talking with customer care…However, another number kept calling him,” stated Elvis Muthoni, the shop operator.

Police who were in plain clothes and in an unmarked car arrived and sat the suspect down outside the shop. He was then taken to a car that was parked right outside the shop.

While speaking at the police station, Duke stated that, at the point of being moved to the car, he was not aware of what was happening. Once in the car, other plain-clothed officers entered.

This caused him to panic. As the car began driving towards the police station, which is about 1.5 kilometres from the point of the incident, he began shouting and calling out, thinking he was being abducted.

He opened the door, attempting to escape, and he was caught and thrown back in the car. This is where the video of his arrest was shot and shared, sparking fears online.

However, Duke has disputed claims of being a thief. In his narration, Duke stated, “That person asked me whether, where I was, there was an MPESA shop near me. I said yes, and he told me to go into the shop and hand the phone to the agent.”

He went on to say, “I got shocked to see myself being arrested. They went to the shop and got my phone and threw me into the car.”

The incident caused a stir online, with some suggesting it is a case of alleged abduction. However, the suspect, who has some swelling on his, is in police custody and is expected to be arraigned in court on Monday.

Police are still on the hunt for the person who was pretending to be a customer care agent.