January 24, 2025

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Troubled Ekeza sacco founder Gakuyo eyes Thika Town seat 2022

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Controversial cleric David Kariuki Ngari, alias Gakuyo (pictured) declared yesterday that he will vie for the Thika Town constituency seat next year’s election.

At the same time, Ngari, the founder of Ekeza sacco which was put under receivership by the Commissioner of Cooperatives over a Sh1.7 billion debt, has announced that he had initiated a reimbursement schedule of the money.

 He wants to replace Thika Town MP Patrick Wainaina who has declared interest in the Kiambu governor seat.

 When the State-appointed Receiver took over the Sacco in 2018, Gakuyo owed depositors Sh1.053 billion which had accrued from a savings and housing scheme that collapsed.

“We have so far managed to pay upwards of Sh800 million and the remaining amount is about Sh250 million which continues to be paid through disposal of properties,” he said.

A document published by the company in newspapers last year showed a schedule of payments that had been made by then.

 The initial refunds were for depositors owed Sh20,000 and below. Another schedule was released on July 19 this year for investors with amounts of Sh50,000 and below.

All the payments span 18 months and the process is ongoing with many depositors being allocated land, according to the July 19 schedule.

Gakuyo also claims that the sacco, which was registered in 2014, is owed millions of shillings by some members who had taken loans and bolted when it sank four years later.

He also blames the Commissioner of Co-operatives for allegedly refusing to release more than 5,000 land titles that had been seized by the receiver, which he says had slowed down the reimbursement process