Man faked death of loved ones to claim Sh600,000 from insurer

Philip Kauma. He admitted he faked the death of his daughter, mother and mother-in-law to obtain Sh600,000. [File, Standard]

A boda boda operator in Mombasa on Tuesday admitted that he faked the death of his daughter, mother and mother-in-law to obtain Sh600,000 from his insurer.

Philip Kauma told a Mombasa court that he fraudulently obtained the money from UAP Old Mutual Insurance in 2021.

The court heard that on May 3, 2021, Kauma enrolled for the last expense policy with UAP.

The boda boda operator from Likoni, Mombasa, according to the court papers, paid a full-year premium of Sh17,000 through the insurer's KCB agent.

In the policy number NBD 0205821, Kauma listed his six children, mother Benedetta Kauma, and his parents-in-law, Seraphine Juma and Vitalis Juma.

Three months later, Kauma claimed compensation for his daugter's death. On June 17, 2021, he notified UAP Old Mutual through the agent at Mwembe Tayari that his daughter had died.

He alleged that the daughter, Veronica, died on June 16, 2021 at Bofu-Dimbwini. The insurer paid a claim of Sh100,000 on July 2, 2021.

A month later, he informed the insurer that his mother had dead, and on September 2, 2021, UAP Old Mutual Insurance paid him another Sh500,000.

"He alleged the mother died on August 30, 2021, and obtained a burial permit from the Kwashee assistant chief," states the court papers.

Kauma was paid in two installments of Sh250,000, Mombasa Chief Magistrate Martha Mutuku heard yesterday.

On Tuesday, Mutuku heard that all the claims were launched and paid within a month through the KCB Mwembe Tayari branch within Mombasa.

According to DPP's Alex Gituma, Kauma's claims raised suspicion in November, 2021, after he presented another claim that his mother-in-law had died.

Kauma claimed that his mother-in-law Serephine Juma died on November 18, 2021.

UAP reported the matter to the DCI-Insurance Fraud Investigation Unit.

Investigations revealed that all the alleged deceased persons were alive except Veronica Odero, the daughter, who died in 2015 long before Kauma took the policy. The matter will be mentioned on February 28.