Suspect accused of using Talaam’s phone to extort money denies charges
Brian Ronoh Kiprotich, accused of using the former Nairobi Central Police Station Officer Commanding Station (OCS) Samson Talaam’s phone to extort money, has denied eight charges of computer fraud.
Ronoh is said to have used the former police boss’s number to extort money from his family and lawyers while it was under the custody of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) for investigation over a murder case.
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Appearing before Milimani Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina, Ronoh also denied being in unlawful possession of seven national identity cards that belonged to different individuals, and a plea of not guilty was entered.
“Plea of not guilty to the eight counts has been entered,” Magistrate Onyina stated.
According to the charge sheet state, Ronoh, on diverse dates between June 16 and 19, 2025, together with others not before the court, allegedly fraudulently replaced a SIM card belonging to OCS Talaam and used it to solicit money for personal gain.
The court was told that on July 20, 2025, while the police was arresting the accused from his residence in the Pipeline area within Nairobi County, they found him in possession of the said identity cards.
The ID cards belonged to Jola Shele, Robert Mwenzi, Stephen Wambua, Njoga Masila, Geoffrey Kipkoech, Nicholas Ouma, and Patrick Agena Muhonja.
However, Ronoh admitted to possessing ID card of Geoffrey Kipkoech, claiming the two are brothers and have been living together.
Bail direction
Meanwhile, after the plea of not guilty been entered, the accused urged the court to release him on bail.
His request was strongly opposed by the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP), stating that the accused is likely to interfere with ongoing investigations.
The State also requested a pre-bail report to be filed in court before the court could release him on bond terms.
Talaam’s lawyer, Stanley Kinyanjui, supported the State request to deny the accused bail, stating that he took advantage of the police boss detention and the compromised handling of his personal items.
“The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) still cannot explain how the phone and SIM card, which were seized and held by IPOA, came into the hands of the accused,” Kinyanjui told the court, urging that a pre-bail report be submitted before any bond decision.
Magistrate Onyina denied Rono bail and ordered he be remanded at Industrial Area Remand Prison until September 12, 2025.
Talaam’s phone was seized from him on June 15, 2025, after he was arrested in connection with the murder of blogger and teacher Albert Omondi Ojwang while in Central Police Station.
