City Crime: Elias Kemboi Korir, a notorious serial fraudster and a key official of the NGO Woman and Youth Against AIDS and Poverty (WAYAAP), has been arrested while attempting to flee the country.

Korir, who has been on police radar for multiple fraudulent schemes targeting businesses, was apprehended at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) earlier today.

Operating under the guise of a charity organization dedicated to supporting vulnerable members of society, WAYAAP has been used by Korir as a front for orchestrating elaborate scams.

Exploiting his position, he reached out to businesses and individuals with attractive tender offers, only to vanish after receiving the supplied goods.

One notable case that exposed the syndicate involved Korir and an accomplice, Halima Samson Mwongela, another WAYAAP official.

Defrauding businesses

Together, they conspired to defraud three suppliers of goods valued at over Ksh 32.8 million.

The goods, purportedly procured for distribution as aid to vulnerable communities, were instead diverted and sold in local markets.

When the defrauded companies attempted to recover their goods or seek payment, they were met with threats, intimidation, and deliberate frustrations.

The victims, unable to secure any resolution, reported the matter to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Headquarters.

The case was promptly assigned to the Operation Support Unit, which launched a manhunt for the culprits.

Upon learning that law enforcement was closing in, Korir—no stranger to police investigations—hatched a plan to escape the country.

However, his attempt was thwarted this afternoon when detectives intercepted him at JKIA.

Korir is now in police custody and is expected to be arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts tomorrow December 18.