A car yard located in Mlolongo, Machakos County, on Friday, June 30, issued a disposal notice for cars, trailers and trucks abandoned at their premises.
In a gazette notice, the company noted that the owners of the cars had failed to collect their vehicles, resulting in significant maintenance costs being incurred by the company.
The list of over 30 cars included a Volvo, Toyota Noah, Toyota Axio, Toyota Rav 4, and a Renault, among other car models. The company also listed different truck models and trailers lying idle at the yard.
"Notice is given pursuant to section 5 of the Disposal of Uncollected Goods Act (Cap. 38) of the laws of Kenya to the owner(s) of the under-mentioned motor vehicles/salvages," read the notice in part.
The auctioneer directed the owners to visit the yard near Mlolongo Weighbridge and collect their automobiles within 30 days or risk having the cars auctioned.
In the disposal notice, the company cited the Disposal of Uncollected Goods Act (Cap. 38), which it observed gave them the mandate to oversee the process.
The company adhered to all the stipulated rules enshrined in that section before informing the owners to collect their vehicles.
"If the custodian has given to the depositor a notice of intention to sell and the specified date has been reached on or after which sale was proposed in terms of paragraph 1(f) of the Second Schedule.
"The sale of the goods by the custodian must be made in good faith and he must take reasonable care to obtain the best price reasonable in the circumstances," the law stipulates.
On Thursday, April 27, Ruiru MP Simon King’ara tabled a bill to protect guarantors from auctioneers in case of default in repayment of loans relating to cars and other assets.
In his bill, King'ara sought to amend Section 3 of the Principal Act to prevent lending institutions from seizing guarantors' assets if the borrowers defaulted on their loans.
“The objective of this Bill is to amend the law to provide that in case of a default, the creditor or the lending institution should first realise the assets of the defaulter before pursuing the guarantor.
“This should not be the case. The assets of the principal debtor should be sold first as he or she is the main or sole beneficiary of the borrowed funds," King’ara stated
The MP tabled the bill after several guarantors lost their assets to auctioneers due to defaults.
