Anger, tears during MPs’ meeting over stalled Sh1.2bn Jamii Bora housing project
Some of the cheap house owners at Jamii Bora in Isinya hold demo saying they have been shortchanged by the charitable trust fund.
The Senate Committee on Roads and Transport has raised the red flag over the Sh1.2 billion Jamii Bora housing estate in Kisaju, Isinya Sub-county.
The committee led by Kiambu Senator Kimani Wamatangi toured the project site yesterday, before meeting dozens of dejected members in a stormy session.
The members recounted their tribulations over the past 10 years after they were moved from various informal settlements in Nairobi by the Jamii Bora Trust founder Ingdrid Munro at the inception of the project.
Each member was to get a modern house in a project that comprised eight neighbourhoods and a shopping centre.
However, things went haywire when Jamii Bora Trust was put under receivership and eventually sold to Kisaju View Park Ltd over unpaid loan.
Many members lost their houses after the prices shot up to Sh6 million from the initial Sh300,000.
"We have been subjected to untold pain. Most members have been evicted and their houses sold by the management. This is a scheme to steal from poor Kenyans," said Mr Calvin Munayi, the Jamii Bora estate chairman.
Kingdom Bank
The project founder, Ms Munro, 80, explained, amid tears, how the project slipped through her hands over a loan she had obtained.
More than Sh800 million was said to have been obtained from different lenders using the same title.
At the same time, the County Government of Kajiado is demanding Sh2 billion in unpaid land rates, sinking the project further into trouble.
The committee issued summons to Kajiado Governor Joseph Lenku and directors of Kisaju View Park Ltd, who skipped the stormy meeting.
The House team said there seemed to have been a well-orchestrated scheme to steal from the poor in the most cavalier manner.
Senator Wamatangi promised justice to the victims.
Mega fraud
"We have summoned Kajiado Governor Joseph ole Lenku and Kisaju View Park Development Ltd directors to appear before the committee in two weeks’ time. This is a mega fraud," said Mr Wamatangi.
Governor Lenku is expected to shed light on the Sh2 billion unpaid land rates, among other issues around the project.
The committee further urged the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to investigate and prosecute the actors in the multimillion-shilling scheme.
A spot check revealed the houses under the project were left incomplete alongside churches, a mosque and two unregistered public schools that already have learners. There is no link road to the project site, nor is there water or sewer line.
