(NAIROBI, KENYA) – A mobile phone repair technician is facing criminal trial for allegedly using specialised electronic tools to bypass M-Kopa Kenya’s security systems, allowing defaulted phones to keep working without customers completing their instalments.
Forensic investigations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations linked Benjamin Okello to the unauthorised alteration of 26 phones belonging to M-Kopa. Analysis indicated that 365 devices had passed through flashing tools found at his repair shop in the Mradi area of Mathare, Nairobi.
M-Kopa told the High Court that some devices were marked lost, while others had their security software manipulated to avoid restrictions placed on customers who defaulted on daily payments.
Following a raid, M-Kopa identified 24 of the 29 phones recovered from Mr Okello’s premises as its property. Twenty-three of those phones had allegedly been altered to defeat the company’s payment control systems.
A further examination identified 18 additional phones tied to M-Kopa’s financing arrangements, valued at KES 303,487 ($46.69). Of these, 17 were still active on loan but appeared inactive on the company’s device management system, raising suspicion that their security features had been tampered with.
Founded in 2011, M-Kopa started in Kenya and has expanded to Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana. The company says it has helped nearly five million customers access more than KES 210 billion ($32.3 million) in credit to buy smartphones, solar power systems and health insurance.
The firm relies on switching off gadgets in default to recover its loans.
The details emerged in a constitutional petition in which Mr Okello challenged his arrest and prosecution for allegedly handling suspected stolen property. He argued that police relied on unproven claims by the mobile phone financier.
The High Court dismissed the petition and allowed the criminal trial before a Makadara court to proceed. “The fact that the 1st Petitioner [Mr Okello] operated a repair business does not, by itself, immunise him from criminal investigations,” the court said. It added that the mere discovery of phones and diagnostic equipment at his premises cannot, without other circumstances, prove criminal conduct.
In an affidavit, M-Kopa’s global fraud investigations manager, Edgar Samba, said the company finances phones through daily instalment plans and keeps ownership of the devices until the customer pays the full purchase price.
He said the company uses software to remotely restrict financed devices when customers default. However, the financier has encountered cases where financed phones were stolen or their security software interfered with, allowing customers or third parties to keep using the devices without meeting payment obligations.
In February 2025, the company received complaints from customers whose phones had allegedly been stolen and advised them to report the incidents to police.
On 10th July 2025, M-Kopa lodged a complaint with police, prompting investigations that led officers to Mr Okello’s business premises at Gateway, Mradi, in Mathare. Police raided the shop and arrested the technician, who describes himself as a mobile phone repairer.
Officers allegedly recovered 71 mobile phones, along with computers, laptops, external hard drives and specialised diagnostic and flashing equipment, including Pandora, Chimera and U.F.I boxes. The equipment was sent for forensic examination by the DCI, which allegedly found that hundreds of phones had passed through the recovered tools.
M-Kopa said the equipment was capable of interfering with its security software, allowing restrictions on financed phones to be bypassed.
Police later charged Mr Okello at the Makadara Law Courts with possession of suspected stolen property, contrary to Section 323 as read with Section 36 of the Penal Code.
Mr Okello, together with lawyer Gabriel Owade, alias OG Makowade, went to court to invalidate Section 323. They argued that the provision criminalises suspicion rather than proven conduct and shifts the burden of proof to the accused.
They said the law, which requires a person found with property reasonably suspected to be stolen to give a satisfactory account to the court, violates the presumption of innocence and the right to remain silent.
Mr Okello maintained that the phones recovered from his premises belonged to customers who had brought them in for diagnosis, repairs, software servicing and replacement of parts. He said he had run a legitimate repair business for years, routinely receiving devices and issuing job cards or receipts before holding them pending collection.
He argued that he could not reasonably be expected to know the financing arrangements between customers and third party financiers. He added that outstanding loan balances, alleged software interference and actual theft were separate issues.
The technician also accused police of searching his shop without a warrant and arresting him before establishing whether the phones had been stolen or whether he knew they were unlawfully obtained. He said officers seized his tools of trade, including computers, laptops and diagnostic equipment valued at about KES 555,000 ($85.38).