Three university students were arraigned in a Nairobi court on Monday, August 25, 2025, over allegations of attempting to defraud Sidian Bank of more than Sh7.8 million through a sophisticated scheme of siphoning money from customer accounts.
The suspects — Nelson Christiano Nangole, John Oboni Odidi, and Phostine Hesbon Ochieng — appeared before Senior Principal Magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo, facing charges of theft, handling stolen property, and laundering proceeds of crime.
According to the prosecution, the offences occurred on January 11, 2025, at undisclosed locations within Kenya. Investigators claim that the trio worked with accomplices still at large to transfer Sh7,882,845 from various Sidian Bank unlawfully accounts into their personal and third-party bank accounts, as well as M-Pesa accounts.
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Odidi, a student at JKUAT, is accused of diverting Sh458,313 into his I&M Bank accounts. Ochieng, from Thika Technical Training Institute, allegedly moved Sh451,346 from Kericho Tractor Centre’s account to his National Bank and M-Pesa accounts. Nangole is accused of retaining Sh113,220 in his M-Pesa wallet despite knowing it was illicit money.
Their lawyers, Miss Otieno and Mr. Ogolla, pleaded for leniency, arguing that the accused are students from low-income families and not flight risks. One told the court that he was the sole breadwinner for two families. At the same time, another stated that he depended on a single parent.
Magistrate Onsarigo granted each accused a cash bail of Sh300,000 or a bond of Sh1 million. The case will be mentioned on September 3 for a pretrial hearing.
By Joseph Mambili
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