Get-rich-quick schemes and scams are always known to target people struggling to make it big in life, especially those on the lower end of the pyramid since they are perceived as desperate and thus easy to defraud.
However, between 2011 and 2013, Danson Mungatana, who was then serving as Garsen Member of Parliament and the current Tana River Senator, allegedly defrauded approximately Ksh76 million in a get-rich-quick scam.
Narrating the incident in court during a case he (Mungatana) filed against Abdoulaye Tamba Kouro, a traditional healer from Chad, whom he accused of defrauding him, Mungatana said his initial investment doubled, prompting him to trust the healer with larger amounts of money.
Mungatana noted that he first invested Ksh 500,000 and got one million, after which he invested five million and got ten million in return.
"I was very happy when I was told there was another opportunity to invest. He asked me if I had money I told him no, he asked me to look for money, and he said the opportunity is for around Ksh.5 million. I looked for the money from friends and relatives, he had said I will be paid double the amount and after six months the accused person, true to his words he gave me back 10 million shillings. And all these transactions were in cash," Mungatana narrated.
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The two transactions, together with assurances from the accused person and his flamboyant lifestyle, where he displayed a fleet of cars and heavy security around his premises, gave Mungatana confidence that he was dealing with a wealthy and legit investor.
"The accused inspires you with confidence when you go to his place you will see many vehicles his apartment is richly serviced with men watching over him, he's been treated like a king and will never think that anything would go wrong," he told the court.
After the two successful transactions, the traditional healer reportedly called Mungatana and informed him there was an opportunity to invest one million dollars. Back then, the exchange rate was around Ksh76, which meant that the alleged investment amounted to Ksh76 million.
Excited about the opportunity, Mungatana sourced the money and reportedly handed it over to the accused. However, unlike previous transactions, the accused allegedly disappeared.
"I sold properties that were in my name. I sold shares that were in my name and my late wife's name. We had cars that had logbooks, we went to the banks and we took short-term loans...I lost everything. After borrowing all the wealth I had accumulated..He made a mockery of my own savings," Mungatana added.
In October 2023, the court acquitted Kouro, noting that the prosecution did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that the healer defrauded the former Garsen legislator.
However, he was convicted of defrauding an individual of approximately one million Kenyan shillings in March 2017 and being in possession of counterfeit currency amounting to close to one billion shillings.
