How Man Was Tricked into Trading Family Land for Sh10,000 and an Old Motorcycle

In Murang’a, a Family is facing the possibility of becoming squatters on their own ancestral land.

This unfortunate situation arose when one of the sons, Joseph Wainaina, unknowingly traded the land for a meagre sum of Sh10,000 and an old motorbike. Teresiah Wanjiru, a 60-year-old woman, recounts the events that led to this predicament. On October 3, 2023, Joseph approached his mother, Wanjiru, seeking her guarantee for a loan of Sh70,000. His intention was to purchase a second-hand motorcycle as an investment in the transport sector. Trusting her son, Wanjiru agreed to support his endeavour, believing that he would use his daily earnings to repay the loan. The lender was someone known to her, and since the agreement was to be settled at the chief's office, Wanjiru had no reason to suspect any foul play.

However, Wanjiru's world was turned upside down ten days later when she witnessed the creditor, accompanied by three unfamiliar individuals, arriving on her land. To her shock, they began surveying the boundaries and assessing the structures erected on the property. Confused and alarmed, she confronted them, demanding an explanation for their presence. In response, they presented her with a copy of an agreement that claimed she had sold her land, and they were there to inspect it. Being illiterate, Wanjiru was left speechless and resigned to her fate. The consequences of her son's actions had blindsided her, leaving her facing the heartbreaking prospect of becoming a stranger on the land that had been in her family for generations.

According to Mr Wainaina, he approached a man named James Wakaci to request a loan for the purchase of a motorcycle. After discussing it with his mother, who raised no objections, they visited the chief's office in Ngelelya town in Ithanga Kakuzi sub-county. During this meeting, Mr Wakaci and the chief drafted a document for them to sign, although no copies were provided to Mr Wainaina or his mother. During the encounter, Mr Wainaina witnessed Mr Wakaci giving the chief, Mr Julius Kimani a sum of Sh10,000 as compensation for arranging the meeting and making the effort to draft the letter. As a standard six dropout, Mr Wainaina felt elated because he only needed to start transporting passengers for a fee in order to repay the loan over 500 days, with daily instalments of Sh300. This arrangement would result in a total interest payment of Sh60,000 on the loan.

The chairman of the Murang'a Law Society of Kenya, Alex Ndegwa, characterizes this incident as a meticulously planned arrangement to manipulate the law, falling short of moral and ethical principles. He explains that the incident is rooted in the act of land grabbing, where the chief takes advantage of Ms Wanjiru's illiteracy to ensnare her in a land sale agreement, with himself serving as the intermediary. Mr Ndegwa points out that the chief cannot feign ignorance of the scheme, the monetary figures involved, or the suspicious payment method proposed. As a local resident, it is impossible for him to be unaware of the market prices of land in his jurisdiction.