The deal was finally sealed for Cornelius Kipng'etich, or so he thought. The Jua kali artisan, based in Nakuru County, received a phone call from unknown business people claiming to have tenders from the government and sought to work with him in a bid to deliver the required items.
Things, however, took an unexpected turn after the businessmen duped the unsuspecting artisan, and walked away with the items worth Ksh1.4 million- leaving Kipgn'etich debt-ridden.
While speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, the artisan detailed how he ended up chasing shadows from the tender deal turned scam.
"I launched Pamoja Kenya Simba Machinery and Fabricators in February 2022. At the time, I worked under Nakuru Simba before resigning to work on his own business.
"In November 2022, I received a call from an anonymous person who sought machines; they claimed to have a tender from the government," he noted.
According to Kipng'etich, the business person wanted two mixers, five posho mills, a hammer mill with 20 horsepower and two digital weighing scales.
Excited about the opportunity, the artisan took a Ksh600,000 loan from the bank and gave his logbook and machines as security.
Kipng'etich owns a grey Mitsubishi Nativa, which he affirmed cost Ksh1.15 million.
The artisan proceeded to purchase the items needed in a bid to make the items. At the beginning of December 2022, the artisan informed the business person that the items were ready.
"The following day, they called me to state that they would pick up the items by the end of the day. At around 5:00 pm, the business person called me to claim that he would not personally make it to the shop. However, he pointed out that a trailer from Kampala, Uganda was coming to pick up the items," he detailed.
"At 6:30 pm, the trailer arrived at the workshop to pick up the big items. At 9.00 pm, the business person called to suggest that I select an employee I trust to accompany the driver to Kilifi County, and finalise the deals, the very night," he added.
Seeking to close the transaction part of the deal, Kipng'etich agreed to the terms and wrote an invoice and a delivery note as required.
"They assured me that they would take care of my employee. I was only required to give him an invoice and a delivery note."
"There were two people in the car. When they arrived in Gilgil, they did a stopover in order to take supper at a roadside hotel to continue with the journey to Kilifi," he affirmed.
According to the artisan, his employee suddenly became light-headed and had blurred vision. 30 minutes later, the employee called Kipng'etich informing him that the driver and his passenger had vanished.
"Through my employee, I spoke to one of the waiters at the hotel who affirmed that the guy was in a drowsy state for the past half an hour. He also affirmed that the driver and his passengers had left the scene at the time," the artisan recalled.
Kipgn'etich claimed that the business person's phone calls did not go through. The artisan filed a report at the Nakuru Central police station as he sought Ksh1.4 million to be rightfully paid for the services delivered.
"I have tried to seek assistance from my family but there is nobody who is able to. The bank keeps calling as I am supposed to start paying Ksh55,292 every month beginning in January. Further, the car I gave as a guarantee broke down and is currently at the garage," he pointed out.
Kipng'etich urged Kenyans of goodwill to come to his aid and assist him in clearing the bank loan.
