NAIROBI,3rd June 2026 -An influx of financial scams emanating from contraband mobile phones within Kenyan prisons had forced the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly to summon the Commissioner General of Kenya Prisons.
Appearing today before the committee members, Principal Secretary of State Department for Correctional Services Dr Salome Beacco and Commissioner General Patrick Aranduh appeared uncertain as to where these mobile phones come from.
Hard pressed following revelations that several prisons officers have been arrested in connection with scams within prison walls, Dr Beacco simply said she didn’t know the source of the mobile phones.
Investigations point towards a well established cartel between prison officers and hardcore inmates as having been behind the scamming syndicate across major prison facilities across Kenya.
Last year, allegations of a well coordinated drugs cartel surfaced at the Industrial Area, Nairobi prison, but when the same was brought to the attention of the commissioner general, no action was taken.
In the revelations at the remand facility, a multimillion cartel coordinates the acquisition of bhang, heroin,miraa, cigarettes and strict prescription drugs for mentally challenged people then supplies it to merchant inmates who make sales between Sh100,000 to Sh300,000 in transactions.
To mask their operations,the involved officers operate by using codenames like “World Boss” “Ninja”, and “Brown”, amongst others within the prison walls.
This makes it difficult for inmates to know their official names in case business deals backfire and there’s a clash.
However, mobile phone numbers availed to Moses Dola Investigates tied back to the said officers even though listed under different names and their spouses.
Across the nation and in prisons like Naivasha, Kamiti ,Nakuru,Shimo La Tewa,Kodiaga and Nyeri maximum prisons, well coordinated scammers abound under the watch of the officers in charge and junior officers who siphon the phones into the prisons.
In the event a scam is reported to local Directorate of Criminal Investigations – DCI from any prison, the administration responds by mounting searches within prison blocks and often confiscate a few “sacrificial” handsets to cool the administration.
In extreme cases, these searches have previously resulted in prison deaths from beatings of inmates. In its call to both the commissioner general and the PS, the PAC asked that the commissioner makes it unbearable to have phones inside prisons.
