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IMPERSONATED: Kenya's president Uhuru Kenyatta

SEVEN MEN who allegedly defrauded a Kenyan businessman out of 10 million shillings by pretending to be president Uhuru Kenyatta have been arrested.

The men, who appeared in court on Monday, are accused of imitating the Kenyan president’s voice and persuading Naushad Merali, chairman of Sameer Africa, to release the large sum of money, 10 million shillings (£76,000), according to local newspaper the Daily Nation.

Another local publication, The Star, has put the figure that Merali was allegedly conned out of at 80 million shillings.

According to reports, the men were pretending to sell land in Nairobi and after receiving the call, Merali, who was abroad at the time, instructed a finance director to facilitate the payment.

The police have said they require more time to investigate the alleged crimes. The men have not yet been charged in relation to the incident.

"The nature of investigations is complex since it requires communication data from several service providers, which requires time. [Time is required] to establish the details of the bank account ... and the signatories,” The Daily Nation reported an affidavit from the Kenyan police said.

“Due to the complexity of the investigations and the number of suspects involved, including some who are still at large, it is expected that the investigation will involve going through voluminous documents including bank documents and call data records analysis.”

The Sameer Group is conglomerate involved in various sectors including agriculture, transport, energy and power, insurance and construction.

According to the group’s website, it provides direct and indirect employment to more than 30,000 people and is focused on developing Africa.

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