Nairobi man's night out at River Road club ends in tears as cons drug him, withdraw cash from his M-Pesa account

A Nairobi resident is counting losses after he was allegedly drugged and robbed of Ksh. 290,000 and a high-end mobile phone by two men he met during a night out along downtown River Road.

The victim, Simon Katumo, had gone out for drinks at a club on River Road when he struck up a conversation with two seemingly friendly individuals—later identified as James Githinji and Brian Kamau.

According to police, Katumo joined the duo for drinks, unaware that they were targeting him.

He reportedly lost consciousness shortly after taking a round of drinks they had ordered. 

He later woke up in his apartment, confused and with no memory of how he got home.

"It was then that he realized his smartphone was missing, and he later discovered that KSh290,000 had been siphoned from his M-Pesa wallet and bank accounts," said the police.

Katumo reported the matter at Nairobi Central Police Station. 

Detectives launched an investigation and managed to trace the suspects using mobile money transaction data and CCTV footage from the club. 

Githinji and Kamau were later arrested and booked at the station.

The two were on Wednesday arraigned before Principal Magistrate Stephanie Beth at the Makadara Law Courts, where they denied the charges. 

They were each released on a cash bail of KSh100,000.