A businesswoman is among four individuals facing charges of conspiracy to defraud and providing false information to public officers in a case that authorities say unraveled into an alleged cross-border extortion scheme.

Salma Osman Gureye, who recently took a plea after returning from abroad, joins co-accused Abdinoor Sharmake Mohamed, Munai Dahir Dalmar, and Shamis Warsame Osman. The three were arraigned at Makadara Law Courts earlier this year.

The four are accused of conspiring to obtain Sh51 million from Abdiazi Abdulahi Fidow on various dates between May 2, 2023, and March 23, 2024, at unknown locations within Kenya.

Prosecutors allege that on May 17, 2023, Gureye, Dahir, and Shamis reported to police at Pangani Police Station that Fidow had defrauded them. 

They claimed to have handed over the cash in person to Fidow (complainant) at Sharmake’s residence in the Pangani area on January 2, 2022, for investment in his company, African Express Cargo, as part of a joint cargo business venture in Nairobi.

According to their initial statements, the complainant allegedly became elusive, failed to initiate operations, and fled to Uganda. To support their claims, the group produced an Acknowledgement of Debt dated May 2, 2023, purportedly signed by him before an advocate promising repayment within six months.

Sharmake is further accused of recording a corroborating statement that falsely affirmed the cash handover and complainant’s evasion. The complaint led to complainant’s apprehension at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on March 10, 2025.

However, his travel records revealed he had been outside Kenya throughout the alleged transaction period, directly contradicting the accusations.

Investigations later established that the accused first met Fidow on May 1, 2023. Fidow claims he was subsequently abducted by individuals posing as Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) officers, detained, and coerced into signing the fake debt acknowledgment. 

He was allegedly forced to pay Sh2.2 million for his release and the return of his passport.

Later, through an intermediary and with involvement of Ugandan Interpol, he was reportedly extorted for an additional Sh3.87 million under threat of deportation to Kenya.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) ordered a comprehensive investigation, including official travel records from the Department of Immigration for all parties involved. 

Gureye was granted a cash bail of Sh200,000 or an alternative bond of Sh1 million, pending trial.