Investors of a troubled Sacco have reached out to President Uhuru Kenyatta after their property was marked for auction over a Ksh500 million loan.
The group held protests in Thika on Tuesday, November 23, after they learnt that a commercial bank was planning to auction their parcels of land to recover the half a billion loan taken by the Sacco.
The group, which consists of 400 members, has asked the President to intervene and help them save their investment.
Speaking to the press, one of the investors identified as Hillary Maingi, noted that by the time the storm began, the arrears plus interest stood at Ksh315 million and was still rising.
"The Sacco took a loan of Ksh500 million from a bank and secured it with this land. So they charged it to this land. So any money we were raising, the Sacco was supposed to channel it to the bank to pay the loan but we don't know what happened. The loan was not paid and that is why the bank was auctioning the land to recover its money.
"This auction was announced when the interest was at Ksh315 million and it still rising to date. We are now appealing to all members to join us so that we can raise money to save this land," stated Maingi.
Another investor, Lucy Wandia, reached out to the President arguing that the investors risked losing all their hard earned investments.
"I request our dear President to come and rescue us because our land is going. The developers have formed a habit of defrauding the investors and they are walking free. Our dear President come and rescue us, all the buyers," she stated.
The investors are now considering raising the balance to settle the debt before their land is auctioned.
Maingi urged those with over an eighth of an acre to raise an additional Ksh600,000 aimed at reducing the bank loan hence extending the window period before the auction.
Stephen Waweru, another investor, noted that out of the 400 members, only 200 have been consolidated and galvanised to help and rescue the land.
The clients bought the parcels of land of varying sizes at Panorama in Thika but are yet to receive their title deeds which are still held by the bank. The property was valued at Ksh1 billion.
The Sacco, which has been ailing for a while, has dodged a wave of protests from thousands of Kenyans who invested money into different properties but are yet to benefit from their investments.
In October 2021, the chairman of the Sacco told the investors that the management had hatched a plan to secure the investments in a period of one year.
The Sacco was founded in 2012 and by 2020, it had expanded its investor portfolio to include blue chip company bosses down to shoeshines and hawkers.
