A Tanzanian woman who has been working for the longest time as a beggar in Mombasa streets has been arrested.
The Tanzanian national based in Mombasa has been surviving and earning through the profession.
Apparently, she has been using children that she “rents” from Kenyan parents on a daily basis for a fee of Ksh. 3,000.
It’s reported that she was earning Ksh. 15,000 to Ksh. 20,000 a day from unsuspecting Kenyans who were unknowingly sustaining her lifestyle of being a “beggar” when in actual reality, she’s not.
The 23-year-old woman has been conning Mombasa locals for quite some time pretending to be a cripple on the streets.
Acting on a tip-off from the keen observers of the members of public, the long hands of the law pounced on the “beggar” and arrested her.
The Mombasa County Inspectorate Deputy Director Ibrahim Basafar disclosed that they were successful in finding the children whom the aforementioned woman was using to con locals with.
“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,” County Inspectorate Deputy Director Ibrahim Basafar said.
Basafar went ahead to caution Kenyan parents against working with con artists pretending to be physically challenged to con unsuspecting Kenyans on the streets.
Basafar went on to add how the con artists usually put these “rented” children to harsh conditions in an effort of conning locals without thinking twice about the health of these children who are 15 years and below.
“The sunlight is harsh, there is dirt and sometimes they are even rained on. These children are 10, 12 and 15yr olds,” he said.
Basafar urged Kenyans to always be on the lookout to these con artists who usually fake being disabled beggars to take their hard-earned money from them.
“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,” Basafar said.
The Tanzanian woman was charged with two accounts of obtaining money by false pretense and another of being in the country illegally.
She pleaded guilty before Senior Resident Magistrate Rita Amwai and was sentenced to 1 yr in prison for the charge of obtaining money by false pretense or part with a fine of Ksh50,000.
On the second count of being in Kenya illegally, Judge Amwai gave repatriation orders after fulfillment of the first judgment.
