Family Loses Funeral Fundraiser Money After Man Allegedly Vanishes With Contributions

A Kenyan family already grieving the loss of their loved one, Mercy Githuku, says a man who joined their WhatsApp fundraiser vanished with days’ worth of contributions meant for her burial. The man, identified by the family only as John Omkaya, allegedly ran the group’s daily contribution drives before blocking the treasurer and disappearing once he was asked to hand over the money.

The WhatsApp group started as a way to help cover Mercy’s medical bills while she was unwell. When she passed away, members repurposed it into a funeral fundraiser instead.

Contributions were driven through daily challenges, with different members taking turns encouraging others to send in whatever they could.

One participant, who joined through a shared invite link like everyone else, became one of the most active voices in the group. He led several days of challenges and collected money directly from mourners who assumed it was going straight to the family.

When the treasurer asked him to transfer what he’d collected, he blocked her and left the group instead.

“It’s sad that people have turned this evil,” one family member said.

This account comes entirely from the family’s own post. There’s no indication yet that the matter has been reported to police, and no independent confirmation of who the man actually is. If you recognise the pattern described here, the safer move is reporting it to police rather than acting on the name or numbers circulating online.

Open-link WhatsApp groups make it easy for someone with no connection to a family to join unnoticed, especially when people are too consumed by grief to question who’s in the group. Routing contributions through a single trusted paybill or till number, rather than to whoever is leading a daily challenge, closes that gap.