A family in Murang’a could soon be squatters on their own ancestral land after one of the sons unknowingly traded it for Sh10,000 and a rickety motorbike.
A 60-year-old Teresiah Wanjiru says her son, Joseph Wainaina, approached her on October 3, 2023, asking her to guarantee him a loan of Sh70,000 to buy a second-hand motorcycle as an investment in the transport sector.
Ms Teresiah Wanjiku, 60, whose 2.5 acres of land is at risk of being taken over his son's Sh10,000 loan and an old motorcycle worth Sh80,000
Photo credit: Mwangi Muiruri
"I did not object as my son said he would use the daily earnings to service the loan. The lender is a man I know well and since everything was to be agreed at the chief's office, I did not suspect any underhand dealings," says Ms Wanjiru.
Wanjiru says she was shocked when, 10 days later, she saw the creditor, accompanied by three other strangers, turn up on her land and start inspecting boundaries and taking an inventory of the structures built on it.
"I asked them what they were doing on my land and they showed me a copy of an agreement saying I had sold my land and they were there to inspect it," she said.
Ms Wanjiru, who is illiterate, says she was taken aback and resigned to fate. A mother of six adults, Ms Wanjiru says: "If the children, especially the four sons, do not fight for their land now, they will have no choice but to become squatters in the near future... I am 60, have high blood pressure and diabetes... I have resigned myself to fate".
Her daughter, Mrs Mary Ng'endo, 25, said: "God knows we are being taken advantage of because of our poverty, limited education and lack of administrative support from the government.
Mary Ng'endo, 25, and her mother Teresiah Wanjiku, 60 at their Ithanga home compound on October 18, 2023. They are on the verge of losing their home over Sh10,000 loan
She said, "I pay for my mother's medicines and shopping bills worth Sh5,800 per month as well as petty cash needs for her from my hawking business in Nyandarua county and now this!"
Mr Wainaina told Nation.Africa that he went to the man, identified as James Wakaci, to ask for a loan to buy the motorcycle.
"He asked me for collateral and I had no assets. He asked me who could guarantee me and I gave him my mother's name. He asked for my identity card and I did not have one at the time. He told me to go and get my mother's identity card," he said.
Mr. Joseph Waithaka, 20, claims he was tricked into selling 2.5 acres of family land in Murang’a for Sh10,000 and an old motorcycle
Photo credit: Mwangi Muiruri | Nation Media Group
Mr Wainaina said he went home and informed his mother, who did not object.
"Together with my mother, we went to our chief's office in Ngelelya town in Ithanga Kakuzi sub-county. We met Mr Wakaci and the chief wrote on a piece of paper for us to sign. No copy was given to me or my mother," he said.
Mr Wainaina said the creditor proved helpful "because he gave me Sh10,000 in cash and also gave me an old motorcycle which he said was worth Sh80,000".
He says he also saw Mr Wakaci give the chief, Mr Julius Kimani, Sh10,000 for facilitating the meeting and the trouble of writing the letter.
Mr Wainaina, who is a standard six dropout, says he was elated because "all I had to do was go out there and start carrying passengers for pay and service the loan within the agreed 500 days at daily instalments of Sh300 to define a Sh60,000 interest on the loan".
He says he was given a three-week grace period to start servicing the loan, but was surprised to hear that Mr Wakaci had gone to the family land to inspect it.
"In panic, I called him and told him I wanted to return the Sh10,000 he had given me and the motorcycle. He told me that was impossible unless I was prepared to pay him back Sh300,000 in cash. This shocked me as it was not part of our agreement," he said.
He says he still had Sh4,000 of the Sh10,000 he received from Mr Wakaci... "I needed Sh296,000 more to save our land... I sold the motorbike for Sh30,000 in a desperate bid to save our land... I now need Sh266,000 more".
Mr Wakaci told Nation.Africa that "this man is lying and he knows that he agreed to sell the land to me".
Asked for how much he paid for land, he said "this is a private matter between a willing buyer and a willing seller and I am happy to deal with this family as such".
The area chief accused Mr Wainaina of spreading propaganda against him and the deal. "I am ready with my documents in the office to prove that he and his mother willingly entered into a land sale agreement with Mr Wakaci," said Mr Kimani.
Ngelelya Chief Julius Kimani who denies any wrongdoing in facilitating the sale of 2.5acres of land for Sh10,000 and an old motorcycle worth Sh80,000.
Photo credit: Mwangi Muiruri| Nation Media Group
He added that "the agreement has the mother's identity card as the seller and his son as a witness... An agreement that provided for the payment of Sh10,000 upfront and a motorcycle valued at Sh80,000".
The chief further denied taking Sh10,000 from the buyer, saying "my job was very simple: That of confirming to the buyer that the land belonged to Mrs Wanjiru and that Mr Wainaina was her son".
Asked if he did not find it strange that the land was being sold so cheaply, Mr Kimani said "the chief does not order people to sell their land and does not set prices for those who choose to sell".
He added: "I am not amused by this emerging interest in the deal, which implies some improper motives against me, and I may be forced to take legal action against this family.”
Asked if he found it strange that Mr Wainaina did not have an identity card at the time, Mr Kimani said: "What matters is that his mother had hers and she left some copies to prove the agreement.
Murang'a Law Society of Kenya (LSK) chairman Alex Ndegwa said the incident was a well-planned deal that played with the law "but lacked morality and integrity".
He said the structural basis of the incident was land grabbing "where the chief is taking advantage of illiteracy of Ms Wanjiru to get herself into the noose of a land sale agreement with him acting as the middleman".
Mr Ndegwa added that "the chief cannot claim ignorance of the scheme, the figures involved as well as the suspicious mode of payment proposed and as a local resident he cannot fail to be aware of the market prices of land in his jurisdiction".
But legally, he said, the deal appeared to be above board "if it can be shown that Ms Wanjiru was of sound mind and was not intoxicated or acting under duress when she entered into the agreement".
Mr Ndegwa added that "the chief's input was very critical in the deal because he introduced the legal bond between the seller and the buyer and the law requires him to write the letter of succession which is used to start the process of sealing the deal leading to titling".
Mr Ndegwa said "the lady still has an opportunity to withdraw from the sale when the process is taken to the Lands Board which is chaired by the Assistant County Commissioner (ACC) and sealed by the Deputy County Commissioner (DCC) with the involvement of the Ministry of Lands".
He said all she has to do is fail to appear at the board and say that if she is followed she will deny any intention of selling her land to anyone.
"It is then that Mr Wakaci will come in and choose to either count his losses and withdraw from the deal or file a civil suit against the family seeking to recover his resources invested in the deal as per the said agreement where the chief will be his witness," said Mr Ndegwa.
He added that "the two parties can amicably agree at the chief's office on how to bring sanity to this deal either by agreeing on an honest deal where the land will be bought at a competent figure or Mr Wakaci will get his refund plus some interest".
Mr Ndegwa said, "this case is representative of the grand corruption in the society and where those mandated to help social engineering have become the compounding problem where they join hands with wheeler dealers to take advantage of illiteracy, alcoholism and naivety to make corrupt capital".
Mrs Wanjiru said, "At my age, I will not fight...and I will not leave this country alive...It was bequeathed to me by my husband who died in 2017 and I will only vacate it in death to take my position near his grave".
