After escaping several police dragnets in the past few months, one of Nairobi’s infamous gold scammers Hon Jonathan Okoth Opande alias Okoth Magawi has been arrested. Opande also known as Chairman/Kiongozi was ejected from a Kisumu-bound KQ flight yesterday afternoon, by hawk-eyed detectives who had gotten wind of his last minute travel itinerary.
The suspect who unsuccessfully contested the Nyakach Parliamentary seat in the last General Elections, has been engaging detectives in cat and mouse games and is wanted in connection with a case where he defrauded two Thai nationals over SH13 million, in a fake gold deal.
According to a complaint lodged at the Royal Thai Embassy in April this year by Messrs Kitvisit Songsri and Nutsaphol Songsri, the suspect posing as the CEO of Blu Afrique LTD obtained the money from them in the pretext that he would supply them gold whose quantity was not immediately established.
The two foreigners had travelled to the country on April 17 to seal the deal when they realized days later that they were the latest victims of Nairobi’s notorious fake gold dealers. The duo had been introduced to Kiongozi by his accomplice Fred Obach Oliech, who was arrested on August 23, and has already had his day in court.
A raid at the main suspect’s office in Lavington’s Gatina area led to the recovery of KRA export seals, a dust coat branded Ministry of Mining and digital weighing scales among other crucial exhibits. The suspect is currently being held at Buruburu police station pending arraignment on Monday.
