The former Kenyan Parliamentary aspirant for Nyakach Constituency, Jonathan Okoth Opande has been arrested on his way out of Kenya trying to escape with Ksh 100 million in a fake gold scam.
In a statement released on Saturday, October 7, 2023, by DCI stated that, Opande was detained by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) Kenya at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), where he was trying to run away after conning Thailand nationals in a fake gold scam.
“Opande, also known as Chairman/Kiongozi, conned two Thai nationals with more than Ksh 100 million in a fake gold scam, and he was removed from a Kisumu-bound KQ flight,” DCI said.
“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 with an excuse that he would supply them gold whose quantity was not immediately established,” DCI stated.
It wasn’t until April of this year that the scam victims realized they had been duped after arriving in Nairobi via plane from Thailand.
The suspect is currently being held at Buruburu police station pending arraignment on Monday, October 9, 2023.
Opande, who stood as an independent candidate in the 2022 general elections, lost to Owen Joshua Aduma.
