More than 100 community-based organisations in Kenya have reportedly lost millions of shillings to a woman promising access to foreign aid. Victims, including church members and small traders, paid registration fees via mobile money but received nothing in return. The woman claims the organisations' leaders misled their members.
Over 100 community-based organisations (CBOs) across Kenya claim to have lost millions of shillings in an alleged scam involving fake donor funding. The victims, comprising church members and small-scale traders, transferred money through mobile transactions to a woman who promised to facilitate access to foreign aid. This aid was intended to support initiatives such as buying land, digging boreholes, and providing education for the needy.
The woman allegedly convinced the organisations to pay registration and facilitation fees to join the programme and receive benefits. One victim recounted: "I went and got millions of money from the bank, and now I have more than Ksh7 million that I have not paid to the bank, and all that I have given to the woman. Some people here have sold their properties to give the money."
Another victim appealed for intervention: "We want the government to help us retrieve the money because when we were donating, we were told that registered people would get some money, boreholes, and many other things."
In response, the woman spoke to NTV and accused the CBO leaders of misleading their members. The incident highlights broader concerns about digital fraud in Kenya. A TransUnion Africa report from earlier this year noted that Kenya led the continent in digital fraud incidents between August and December 2024. It found that 82 per cent of Kenyans were targeted by fraudsters via email, online platforms, phone calls, or text messages. While most avoided falling victim, 11 per cent admitted losses, particularly from third-party seller scams on legitimate websites.
The average loss per incident was about Ksh117,000. The report detailed that third-party seller scams accounted for 34 per cent of losses, followed by unemployment fraud at 26 per cent, account takeovers at 25 per cent, and social engineering scams at 22 per cent.