This archive report was first published on 1 July 2021.
On July 1, 2021, a university student accused of hacking into NCBA and stealing millions using M-Pesa accounts lost a bid to compel Safaricom to restore his blocked mobile phone and till numbers.
Anthony Mwangi Ngigge, a university student, was accused of hacking into NCBA and stealing Sh24.4 million. He also attempted to move another Sh190.7 million.
After an investigation, Safaricom blocked Ngigge's mobile phone numbers and froze his M-Pesa till account, trading under a business name known as Tiindah online shop.
Ngigge moved to court seeking to compel Safaricom to unblock his two mobile phone numbers and M-Pesa till numbers, which he uses for receiving and making payments in his online business.
However, Justice James Makau ruled that the dispute between Ngigge and Safaricom was contractual and ought to be referred to dispute resolution mechanisms before moving to court.
According to Safaricom, an investigation revealed that a total of Sh16.2 million had been processed from NCBA Loop Accounts through Safaricom's M-Pesa system using 250 mobile numbers, which were all suspended.
