In a twist that reads like a crime thriller, a Milimani court has ordered Safaricom to restore the mobile line of former Nairobi Central OCS Samson Taalam, after it emerged his identity was stolen and his phone used for fraud—while he sat in a police cell.

Taalam, currently facing trial for the murder of blogger Albert Ojwang, has become the victim of the very system he once served. The revelation that his SIM card was swapped and used to solicit bribes from his family and associates after his phone was seized by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) raises terrifying questions about the integrity of evidence custody in Kenya.

The "Inside Job" Theory

The timeline presented in court is damning.Taalam was arrested on June 13, 2025.His phone was confiscated by IPOA officers—specifically naming an officer identified as "Jibril." Yet, on June 16, while the device was supposedly in a secure evidence locker, a SIM swap was executed at a remote agent shop, and the line went live.

"This is the first time an exhibit in the hands of IPOA has been accessed in a manner we cannot comprehend," argued Taalam’s lawyer, Danstan Omari. "If a police commander’s evidence is not safe, whose is?"

• The Scam: The fraudsters used Taalam’s number to text his contacts, claiming he needed urgent cash bail. Even a deaf relative was targeted, receiving suspicious voice calls from a Swahili-speaking imposter.
• The Suspects: Four men have been charged with the fraud, but the burning question remains: who gave them the authorization credentials to swap the line of a high-profile detainee?

A System on Trial

Magistrate Carolyne Nyaguthii’s order for Safaricom to restore the line is a temporary relief for Taalam, but the stain on the investigation is permanent. If evidence can be manipulated to commit new crimes, the prosecution’s case against the ex-OCS for murder faces a credibility crisis. For Taalam, the call is coming from inside the house.