In March last year, Emmanuel Gift Masinde made the headlines after he appeared on the cover page of a local daily on allegations of defrauding at least 7 women a total of Sh3.5 million.
Across the blogosphere, the story earned him the tag ‘Twitter Swindler’ even as he appeared to distance himself from the allegations, claiming the publication was after tarnishing his name.
Numerous publications described the 27-year-old as a sharply dressed man who rode through life in the fast lane thanks to his intricate connections.
His mother is a former official of the National Lands Commission (NLC) and his dad a CEO at an energy corporation.
Masinde was quick at getting finer details of career women, most of whom appeared desperate for a man to settle down with.
All he did was start a conversation on social media, which ended up in private chats.
From there, matters got intimate, and before they knew it, he cast them under his spell.
He packaged himself as a man of means and showered the ladies with promises they could only dream about.
Despite the extensive media coverage, the story slowly died down after a few weeks and it appeared as if the “Twitter Swindler” was back to living his best life.
Things, however, took a turn in early November 2022, when a city advocate, Francis Wanjiku, acting on behalf of one of the defrauded victims, declared Masinde a wanted man.
A warrant of arrest was issued and a bounty of Sh100,000 was placed on his head.
“The man pictured above is Gift Emanuel Masinde who is reported to have defrauded a number of people in Nairobi. Anyone who has information leading to his arrest can claim 100,000,” the lawyer tweeted.
This seems to have bore fruit as today, Masinde is reportedly cooling his heels at the Industrial Area Remand Prison in Nairobi, as his case proceeds in court.
Speaking out on the matter, the victim’s lawyer informed the public that Masinde was arrested on 23rd December 2022.
“Masinde has been in remand at Industrial Area since his arrest on 23rd December 2022. He never intends to pay money that he borrows from the girls he dates,” he tweeted.
One female victim who opened up disclosed how she allegedly lost over Ksh1.2 million to Masinde after he duped her into believing that his family runs a lucrative chopper business that hires out helicopters to prominent persons.
He claimed that he had been left the responsibility to manage his family’s vast business empire which also included construction companies.
At one time, Masinde asked her for funds to ensure a chopper.
Masinde alleged that his mother’s bank account had been frozen due to corruption allegations at NLC.
He assured her that their family lawyer would get everything under control.
Armed with fake documents and bank cheques, Masinde managed to obtain the said funds from the female lawyer.
Another lady identified as Nicole who works as a tax director is said to have lost over Ksh1 million to Masinde.
According to the lady, they first interacted on Twitter where Masinde had posed as a potential client seeking her services.
It took Masinde a few months to strike up a romantic affair with the lady.
On claims that he had imported a BMW X-5 but had been held up at the port due to various charges, Masinde asked the lady to send him some money to which they agreed he would sell the car to her at a good price.
She took a Ksh936,000 loan and sent the money to Masinde.
She also sent a total of Ksh65,000 a few days later to cater for paperwork and waivers.
Little did she know that the car never existed and all the documents held by Masinde were fake.
Masinde’s side of the story
Masinde’s Twitter bio reads “pick your struggle; something MUST kill a man.”
Through the account, Masinde rubbished the claims, saying that Nation Media journalist Leon Lidigu was ‘clout chasing’ and mudslinging him.
He went further to expose screenshots of romantic private conversations he had with one of the ladies who allegedly seduced him.
Additionally, Masinde claimed he never had an interview with Leon Lidigu as published and revealed a conversation in which he appeared to turn down the invitation.
Masinde also shared a copy of a demand letter addressed to his mother written by Rene and Hans Advocates which indicated he received Ksh1.2 million that went to servicing a family loan.
