A Nairobi court has freed a university dropout accused of hacking and defrauding a betting firm of Ksh11.4 million.

On September 3, Magistrate Benmark Ekhubi rejected a request to detain Seth Mwabe Okwanyo for 20 more days, instead granting him release on a Ksh1 million bond or Ksh500,000 cash bail.

Okwanyo, a self-taught cybersecurity consultant, was arrested on August 30 at an apartment in Tatu City by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

Central Region Criminal Investigations Officer Abraham Mugambi had confirmed the arrest, stating that the suspect had carried out similar crimes against several major brands.

He explained that investigations began in July after the betting firm reported losing Ksh11.4 million to hackers, with the suspect accused of breaching the company’s digital security systems to execute the theft.

“This year in July, a report was made that a payment service provider had lost Ksh11.4 million through fraudulent means. Investigations commenced, and DCI teams of experts established that the fraud was committed after the individual bypassed the security systems of the company,” Mugambi stated.

The suspect, a second-year IT dropout from the University of Meru, described himself as a cybersecurity engineer and reportedly told officers, “This is what I do.” He insisted that his actions were not theft but part of an independent consultancy.

During the raid, DCI officers recovered several laptops and computers, a money-counting machine, a safe, and other assorted items from his apartment.

Prosecutors allege he used advanced IT skills and a fake Telegram bot to siphon millions through multiple Pesalink transactions, in violation of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act.

In court, Okwanyo claimed he was only testing software he had developed and was shocked when the money landed in his account, insisting it was unintentional.

Magistrate Ekhubi ruled that the prosecution had not provided sufficient grounds to extend his detention but cautioned Okwanyo against interfering with ongoing investigations. “I therefore ask you not to in any way interfere with the investigations. If you interfere, you will be breaching the condition of your bond,” he said.