On August 29, 2023, a user on the X platform (formerly Twitter) with the handle @wangechiKE accused her male friend and business partner of absconding with millions of Kenyan shillings she was owed. She urgently appealed to Kenyan authorities to apprehend the alleged thief.
In a lengthy thread, the user provided explicit details of her business relationship with the individual who had suddenly disappeared, leaving her in distress. She had trusted him to handle financial transactions, specifically sending money from abroad to her mother through the mobile payment service MPESA. She mentioned that she used to give him cash, which he would then send to her mother.
Kesh, as she is known, explained that she needed Ksh. 2.5 million urgently due to an emergency but had less than one million at hand. So, she asked her mother to send the rest. Her friend, Evans, agreed to help her with the transaction. However, trouble began when he went offline immediately after receiving the Ksh. 2.5 million from Kesh’s mother.
Kesh grew increasingly worried as hours passed without any contact from Evans, even though he had promised to deliver the cash within 20 minutes. After an hour, she couldn’t reach him, and his phone was switched off. He later claimed that he had consumed vodka and blacked out, but her instincts told her something was amiss.
Desperate to recover her money, Kesh asked for Evans’ location, but he again switched off his phone, fueling her fears. She tried contacting his workmates, but none of them knew where he lived. Her suspicions heightened when she discovered that Evans had withdrawn the cash.
She reported the incident to the police, who informed her that he had left for Saudi Arabia from the UAE and couldn’t be traced anymore. Kesh anticipated his arrest upon his arrival in Kenya.
After a month of silence, the story resurfaced online with claims that Evans Muriithi had died under mysterious circumstances. Reports of his supposed death circulated on X, with users sharing funeral photos and an obituary. However, doubts emerged about the authenticity of his death, with some suggesting that he faked it to escape justice.
As the mystery deepened, one user offered a Ksh.50,000 reward for concrete proof of Evans’ death. This situation raises questions about why individuals would fake their deaths, with American author Elizabeth Greenwood suggesting that people who owe money may resort to such tactics to evade creditors. However, she noted that those who attempt to fake their deaths often get caught eventually.