By: Vivian Navate
Former Nairobi Central Police Station Officer Commanding Station (OCS) Samson Talaam on Tuesday told a Milimani court that his mobile phone, which he surrendered to investigators for official purposes, was allegedly used to solicit money from his contacts while he was in custody.
Appearing before Magistrate Carolyne Nyaguthii at the Milimani Law Courts, Talaam testified that he was arrested on Friday, June 13, 2025, and placed in custody. He said that on Sunday, officers from the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) requested his mobile phone for investigation purposes, and he handed it over together with the PINs required to access the device.
Talaam told the court that after surrendering the phone, he was later presented in court on a miscellaneous application. However, on the Tuesday that followed, a relative informed him that someone had called claiming money was needed to secure his release. He said the callers demanded varying amounts, ranging from Sh10,000 to as much as Sh80,000.
He testified that he subsequently made formal applications and lodged complaints after learning that his phone was allegedly being used to solicit money without his consent. According to Talaam, the phone and a photocopy of his national identity card had been taken by two IPOA officers, whom he identified in court as Jibril and Njihia.
The court also heard testimony from the second witness, Abdi Abdile, the chairperson of the Nairobi Association for the Deaf, who testified through a sign language interpreter. Abdile told the court that in June 2025, he and officials from the association had met Talaam at the Central Police Station to discuss challenges faced by deaf persons when interacting with police officers.
Abdile said that on June 17, 2025, at around 7am, he received a message from a phone number he had saved as “Samson,” reading: “I am in a problem. I need 10k.” He told the court that the message raised suspicion after the sender continued calling him, despite knowing he is deaf.
He further testified that the communication was in Kiswahili, yet Talaam knew members of the deaf community primarily communicate in English text. Abdile said he sent Sh1,000 to the number but later realized something was wrong and stopped engaging with it altogether.
During the proceedings, Talaam’s lawyer asked the court to issue an order allowing him to renew his SIM card, saying previous attempts had failed after they were informed a court order was required. Magistrate Nyaguthii allowed the application and directed Safaricom to permit Talaam to renew his mobile phone line.
The case will be mentioned again on March 25, 2026, for further directions.
