A court case in which an MP was conned Ksh10 million has taken a new twist after the High Court placed the property of the accused conman under receivership.
It all started in 2014 when Kitui South MP Rachel Nyamai, a second-term lawmaker, was seeking to buy a parcel of land in Nairobi when she met a businessman who gave her an irresistible deal in Karen.
The trader, identified as James Mbaluka, had reportedly promised to sell part of 134 acres in Karen that belonged to another businessman, Horatius Dagama Rose.
"The MP waited for him to procure necessary documents but he could come up with excuses as to why he could not get them until she rescinded the agreement and demanded a refund," argued the lawyer in court.
Justice Maureen Odero placed Mbaluka's properties under a receiver-manager after she declared him bankrupt for failure to pay back the lawmaker.
She ordered that the properties be managed until the MP recoups all her money.
"Having failed to repay the full amount owed despite a court order, I am satisfied that James Mbaluka be adjudged as bankrupt and the court appoints an official receiver-manager as trustee manager as trustee to manage his estates until the debt is realised," ruled Odero.
The MP had rushed to court after the deal fell through the cracks, provided witness accounts and an agreement that proved she had made the payment for the dubious sale.
"The application was proved beyond any doubt through the witnesses' statements and the contract of sale agreement. I find that the money was paid but the defendant did not honour his part of the sale agreement," Milimani Commercial Court Principal Magistrate David Mburu had ruled in 2016.
To obtain the money, Mbaluka had allegedly claimed to be an agent of one Joseph Kamuya Maitha who was registered as the owner of the parcel.
After a series of engagement with the suspect, Nyamai reportedly entered into an agreement to purchase a portion at Ksh30 million.
"Under the agreement, I was to transfer the money to Mbaluka on behalf of the person he said was the original owner. I was to pay Ksh10 million deposit, and the balance after all other documents were transferred to me," Nyamai had told the court.
They signed an agreement before a lawyer and the MP instructed her husband to transfer Ksh10 million as per the agreement.
The parcel had been a subject of deceit between 2005 and 2014 with big names dragged into the saga including Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu, former PS Engineer Gilbert Mong’are Arasa and lawyer Macmillan Mutinda Mutiso.
