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Kisumu Resident Loses Sh200,000 Phone to Known Thief, as Police Demand Money Before Tracking Him

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Kisumu Resident Loses Sh200,000 Phone to Known Thief, as Police Demand Money Before Tracking Him

A Kisumu resident says their brand new Samsung S25 Ultra was stolen on August 27, 2026, after a man they had met earlier in the day followed them from a shopping mall to a restaurant opposite Acacia Hotel, where he convinced them to hand over the phone under the pretext of making a call. The victim says the man disappeared with the phone within seconds.

The complainant says the man was later identified as Willis Juma Ochieng, whose name appears on a police order to arrest dated September 14, 2026.

The document, issued by Kisumu Central Police Station, directs police to arrest Ochieng and bring him before the Officer in Charge of the station over a stealing charge under Section 268 as read with Section 275 of the Penal Code.

The victim now claims that efforts to recover the phone were frustrated by a series of demands for money, poor follow up and suspected information leaks that allegedly tipped off Ochieng whenever police were looking for him. The complainant says they were moved from one officer to another while trying to have the suspect arrested, despite CCTV footage and an arrest order being obtained. Below is the complaint as submitted by the victim.

Complaint from the victim ¶

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that I could lose my phone in such a confusing and devastating manner, and be taken for a ride by the same law-makers who should be protecting and helping citizens.

On 27th August, 2026 I went to run some personal errands in Kisumu Town. First I went to the Bank and from there I went to a Spa. From the Spa, I went to do shopping at the mall and that’s when hell started breaking loose step by step. While doing my shopping, a man approached e and he started conversing as if we knew each other, the “you look familiar” and “and where have we met”. We chatted briefly and exchanged number. From the mall I went to a restaurant opposite Acacia Hotel. It was around 7.30+800 pm.

Immediately, I settled down, the same guy also arrived and came straight to me. He had followed me from the mall. He then told me that his phone was off and he needed to make a call. I gave him my power back but he declined saying his phone doesn’t use power banks---1st main red flag that I failed to see. I then gave him my charger and just by looking at it he said it won’t be able to charge his phone.

He then said his wife was around and that I give him my phone to call her so she can bring him his charger where we were. I didn’t give him the phone, instead I asked for the number which he gave me and I dialed putting the call on loud speaker. A lady came on line and I told her the husband was requesting her to bring his charger at that particular restaurant since his phone had gone off. She didn’t say anything and just disconnected the call.

After a few seconds she called back and I put the phone on loud speaker, she didn’t speak. I said hello hello and the phone went off. She did the same twice and said nothing. On the third call, the guy told me that maybe it was a network problem or the loud speaker thing was interfering with the call. What a smooth thief this one was…… He then said I give him the call so he can talk to her faster faster. And in a split of seconds, MY BRAND NEW S25 ULTRA was gone.

I was in shock, I became mute and couldn’t even shout. He just disappeared in thin air.I went back home, took my home phone and went to Kisumu Central Police to report the matter. After getting an OB, the case was assigned to a DCI officer and I was told to go the next day to make a statement. The next day I went and met the DCI guy who was to take my statement and that’s when the mother of all dramas and frustrations begun. While taking my statement, he suddenly said...”Isn’t this the same Willis who snatches phones from unsuspecting people in this town?” He stopped taking my statement, and stood up to make a call, apparently to conform with another cop about Willis.

When he came back to me, he said that my phone was expensive and that I needed to pay before he helped me track it. I asked how much he wanted because I was desperate and ready to pay. He just insisted that I pay and refused to disclose the amount he wanted. Corruption at its best. He then ignored me for sometime and said he won’t handle my case anymore. I had no option but to leave.

Two days later I went back and met with a certain police lady who is known to me. She told me that the thief is well-known and they have his contacts too. Some other lady had reported him too. She then led me to the person who was asked to track him. In the process she too asked me for something small which I willingly gave her hoping I would get instant help. The tracking guy said that he was at Nyamasaria. It didn’t not even take a few minutes and I started getting Whatsapp calls from a strange number. I ignored the first and 2nd calls and answered the 3rd call. I asked who he was and he said “Naskia unanitafuta” I again I asked him who he was and the next thing I see, he had sent me his photo and said that he was the one who took my phone.

He further told me that the same cops I was using were the same ones informing him that I had reported and was looking for him. He said I should not waste my money on cops because he was at Nyamasaria and has not even gone far. The lady cop then started extorting money from me. She said there was someone who was ready to help him and he wanted 2K. Oooh, at some point she said someone had seen the guy. I told her I wasn’t giving them anymore money since the guy had told me that it was the same cops who were giving him information about what I was doing.

I went to deputy OCS who assigned my case to another cop. This new cop went through the file and went to get CCTV from the Bank to the restaurant. It was then that we found out he had been following me from the rime I was in the bank, to the mall (supermarket). Looking at the footage, they knew exactly who he was and the many cases reported against him. I was told asked to buy a flash-disk for copying the CCTV footage to be sent DCI Nairobi. That cop and I went to Wells Fargo and we sent the package.

Immediately I dropped the cop, the thief called me again telling that I was wasting my time with those CCTV footage. I then realized I was dealing with rogue cops. I decided to make calls to the people I knew in town who could help. There is this guy who sells phones at the Kisumu bus stage, so one of my friends called him and told him what had happened. Apparently this guy sells those phones around that area. The phone seller guy said he knows that thief quite well and has his contacts.

He called him and guess what that twat said, that my phone was expensive and he has already sold it. He further said that I wait he steals another one then give to me, the audacity of a well known common phone thief who the cops can’t arrest. Which kind of cops do we have in this country surely? The next thing I heard, he was seen in Eldoret, next he was in Mombasa. I called a DCI guy in Mombasa who told me that they can’t handle such a case not unless they get an arrest order from Kisumu. That arrest order was done and sent to Mombasa. After that no one bothered to follow up with the Mombasa DCI. I am the one who was making calls. In the end they told me their tracking device is not accurate and furthermore they don’t know that guy.

The last thing I heard, he is Nairobi and the case is no longer with DCI and with the ordinary cops in uniform. I was being thrown from one corner to the other. One cop I approached last told me that the guys is known to them and him and others who hang around the bus stage are on payroll of someone senior in the police department. They steals expensive phones and sell them to Ugandans, Congolese and Rwandese who also hand around waiting. He said he can’t arrest the guy because he might be transferred to another station and he has a young family.

No senior officer could help me. They kept tossing me from one person to the other as if I was the criminal. The security in Kisumu is poor. Daily homes are broken into and TV’s plus phones are stolen and police remain helpless, something need to be done and these cops investigated. One of the cops, who had handled the case and later was stopped actually sent the thief's photo to another cop at Kondele inquiring about the thief's whereabout. Only to realize later that he was given a wrong location. By sending the photo to another cop at another station raised my eyebrows......they were playing games and it's like they all knew what was happening and covering up for a criminal.

Last updated 3h

Prior version 3h
Kisumu Resident Loses Sh200,000 Phone to Known Thief, as Police Demand Money Before Tracking Him
A Kisumu resident says their brand new Samsung S25 Ultra was stolen on August 27, 2026, after a man they had met earlier in the day followed them from a shopping mall to a restaurant opposite Acacia Hotel, where he convinced them to hand over the phone under the pretext of making a call. The victim says the man disappeared with the phone within seconds.

The complainant says the man was later identified as Willis Juma Ochieng, whose name appears on a police order to arrest dated September 14, 2026.

The document, issued by Kisumu Central Police Station, directs police to arrest Ochieng and bring him before the Officer in Charge of the station over a stealing charge under Section 268 as read with Section 275 of the Penal Code.

Arrest Order

The victim now claims that efforts to recover the phone were frustrated by a series of demands for money, poor follow up and suspected information leaks that allegedly tipped off Ochieng whenever police were looking for him. The complainant says they were moved from one officer to another while trying to have the suspect arrested, despite CCTV footage and an arrest order being obtained. Below is the complaint as submitted by the victim.

Complaint from the victim ¶

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that I could lose my phone in such a confusing and devastating manner, and be taken for a ride by the same law-makers who should be protecting and helping citizens. 0n 27th August, 2026 I went to run some personal errands in Kisumu Town. First I went to the Bank and from there I went to a Spa. From the Spa, I went to do shopping at the mall and that’s when hell started breaking loose step by step. While doing my shopping, a man approached e and he started conversing as if we knew each other, the “you look familiar” and “and where have we met”. We chatted briefly and exchanged number. From the mall I went to a restaurant opposite Acacia Hotel. It was around 7.30+800 pm. Immediately I settled down, the same guy also arrived and came straight to me. He had followed me from the mall. He then told me that his phone was off and he needed to make a call. I gave him my power back but he declined saying his phone doesn’t use power banks---1st main red flag that I failed to see. I then gave him my charger and just by looking at it he said it won’t be able to charge his phone. He then said his wife was around and that I give him my phone to call her so she can bring him his charger where we were. I didn’t give him the phone, instead I asked for the number which he gave me and I dialed putting the call on loud speaker. A lady came on line and I told her the husband was requesting her to bring his charger at that particular restaurant since his phone had gone off. She didn’t say anything and just disconnected the call. After a few seconds she called back and I put the phone on loud speaker, she didn’t speak. I said hello hello and the phone went off. She did the same twice and said nothing. On the third call, the guy told me that maybe it was a network problem or the loud speaker thing was interfering with the call. What a smooth thief this one was…… He then said I give him the call so he can talk to her faster faster. And in a split of seconds, MY BRAND NEW S25 ULTRA was gone.

Willis Juma the phone thief

I was in shock, I became mute and couldn’t even shout. He just disappeared in thin air.I went back home, took my home phone and went to Kisumu Central Police to report the matter. After getting an OB, the case was assigned to a DCI officer and I was told to go the next day to make a statement. The next day I went and met the DCI guy who was to take my statement and that’s when the mother of all dramas and frustrations begun. While taking my statement, he suddenly said...”Isn’t this the same Willis who snatches phones from unsuspecting people in this town?” He stopped taking my statement, and stood up to make a call, apparently to conform with another cop about Willis. When he came back to me, he said that my phone was expensive and that I needed to pay before he helped me track it. I asked how much he wanted because I was desperate and ready to pay. He just insisted that I pay and refused to disclose the amount he wanted. Corruption at its best. He then ignored me for sometime and said he won’t handle my case anymore. I had no option but to leave. Two days later I went back and met with a certain police lady who is known to me. She told me that the thief is well-known and they have his contacts too. Some other lady had reported him too. She then led me to the person who was asked to track him. In the process she too asked me for something small which I willingly gave her hoping I would get instant help. The tracking guy said that he was at Nyamasaria. It didn’t not even take a few minutes and I started getting Whatsapp calls from a strange number. I ignored the first and 2nd calls and answered the 3rd call. I asked who he was and he said “Naskia unanitafuta” I again I asked him who he was and the next thing I see, he had sent me his photo and said that he was the one who took my phone. He further told me that the same cops I was using were the same ones informing him that I had reported and was looking for him. He said I should not waste my money on cops because he was at Nyamasaria and has not even gone far. The lady cop then started extorting money from me. She said there was someone who was ready to help him and he wanted 2K. Oooh, at some point she said someone had seen the guy. I told her I wasn’t giving them anymore money since the guy had told me that it was the same cops who were giving him information about what I was doing. I went to deputy OCS who assigned my case to another cop. This new cop went through the file and went to get CCTV from the Bank to the restaurant. It was then that we found out he had been following me from the rime I was in the bank, to the mall (supermarket). Looking at the footage, they knew exactly who he was and the many cases reported against him. I was told asked to buy a flash-disk for copying the CCTV footage to be sent DCI Nairobi. That cop and I went to Wells Fargo and we sent the package.

The suspect, Willis Juma

Immediately I dropped the cop, the thief called me again telling that I was wasting my time with those CCTV footage. I then realized I was dealing with rogue cops. I decided to make calls to the people I knew in town who could help. There is this guy who sells phones at the Kisumu bus stage, so one of my friends called him and told him what had happened. Apparently this guy sells those phones around that area. The phone seller guy said he knows that thief quite well and has his contacts. He called him and guess what that twat said, that my phone was expensive and he has already sold it. He further said that I wait he steals another one then give to me, the audacity of a well known common phone thief who the cops can’t arrest. Which kind of cops do we have in this country surely? The next thing I heard, he was seen in Eldoret, next he was in Mombasa. I called a DCI guy in Mombasa who told me that they can’t handle such a case not unless they get an arrest order from Kisumu. That arrest order was done and sent to Mombasa. After that no one bothered to follow up with the Mombasa DCI. I am the one who was making calls. In the end they told me their tracking device is not accurate and furthermore they don’t know that guy. The last thing I heard, he is Nairobi and the case is no longer with DCI and with the ordinary cops in uniform. I was being thrown from one corner to the other. One cop I approached last told me that the guys is known to them and him and others who hang around the bus stage are on payroll of someone senior in the police department. They steals expensive phones and sell them to Ugandans, Congolese and Rwandese who also hand around waiting. He said he can’t arrest the guy because he might be transferred to another station and he has a young family. No senior officer could help me. They kept tossing me from one person to the other as if I was the criminal. The security in Kisumu is poor. Daily homes are broken into and TV’s plus phones are stolen and police remain helpless, something need to be done and these cops investigated. One of the cops, who had handled the case and later was stopped actually sent the thief's photo to another cop at Kondele inquiring about the thief's whereabout. Only to realize later that he was given a wrong location. By sending the photo to another cop at another station raised my eyebrows......they were playing games and it's like they all knew what was happening and covering up for a criminal.