A 69-year-old retired United Nations official lost his entire life savings of £85,000 (around KSh 14.8 million) after falling for a clever fake marriage proposal in Nairobi.
Rodrick Lodge, a widower who spent years working for aid agencies in the Horn of Africa, sold his home in Suffolk, UK, after an old friend, Mary, introduced him to a fake female executive named “Anita.” Lodge was tricked into sending millions to renovate a four-bedroom house in Nairobi as part of a dowry arrangement.
However, when Lodge landed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in July 2024, Anita was nowhere to be found. After checking hospital records to verify an excuse given by Mary, he realized the woman did not exist.
“I was left stranded with just my suitcases,” Lodge recalled after realizing all his money was gone.
A well-wisher briefly hosted him in Kitengela, Kajiado County, before former colleagues raised funds for his flight back to London. With no home left in the UK, Lodge spent days sleeping at Heathrow Airport and now survives on a meager pension in Staines-upon-Thames.