Wamuzi News Ke
In a case that has sent shockwaves through Kenya’s banking and cybercrime monitoring systems, a 20-year-old student has been formally charged following allegations of orchestrating a major breach involving the transfer of millions of shillings from a commercial bank.
According to prosecutors at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) investigations unit, the accused, identified as Collins Mutuma, a Bachelor of Education (Science) student at Mt Kenya University, allegedly conspired with “others not before court” on 11 January 2025 to hack into the internal systems of Sidian Bank and siphon KSh 7,882,845 from multiple customer accounts.
The charge sheet outlines that the bulk of the funds was transferred into a personal account held by the accused at Diamond Trust Bank (DTB). From there, parts of the stolen funds were allegedly further moved to other individuals in what the prosecution describes as a money-laundering network designed to conceal the origin of the cash. Specifically, KSh 300,000 was directed to one Dominic Gichiri Kagwina, while another KSh 169,000 went to an M-Pesa account linked to Samuel Mukola Matheka.
Court records show one of the victim accounts belonged to a customer named Peninah Karoki from whom KSh 471,302 was allegedly stolen.
The accused appeared before Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina in the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi on 27 October 2025. He pleaded not guilty, maintaining that he was unfairly implicated in a complex cybercrime scheme. He was released on cash bail of KSh 200,000 with one contact person, and the case is scheduled for a pre-trial mention on 3 November 2025.
The alleged breach raises deep concerns about vulnerabilities within banking systems in Kenya—especially given that the theft was purportedly executed by a university student, suggesting a young individual leveraging sophisticated hacking techniques. The amount involved, nearly KSh 8 million, underscores the scale and audacity of the alleged crime.
Investigators say the accused’s role was not isolated; he is alleged to have worked with associates still at large, pointing to the possibility of a more extensive ring operating beyond this one individual.
The prosecution has charged Mutuma with three offences: conspiracy to defraud (under section 317 of the Penal Code), stealing (section 268(1) as read with section 275), and acquisition of proceeds of crime (under section 4(a) of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act).
Law enforcement agencies now face the twin tasks of tracing the remainder of the stolen funds and identifying the remaining alleged conspirators. For the bank, Sidian Bank, and the broader financial sector, this case is a warning sign: internal system safeguards and customer account protections must be re-examined and hardened.
