This archive report was first published on 6 July 2020.
Urithi Housing Co-operative Scandal: Members Lose Millions to Fake Property Deals ¶
Published on July 6, 2020
Urithi, a housing co-operative that has marketed itself as a viable option for those who cannot afford mortgages, has sold fake property deals to unsuspecting Kenyans, leaving them with nothing but losses.
More than 32,000 members of the co-operative are counting their losses, with some waiting for over eight years for their titles. Those who had taken bank loans to finance their purchases are dealing with double losses, given that they have nothing to show for the money.
The losses run into billions of shillings, with Urithi having run out of lies to feed its investors. The co-operative's directors, who live large and drive posh cars, ride roughshod over investors and have no time even for direct media inquiries, preferring to use police to silence protesters rather than face their customers and offer solutions.
Urithi chairman, Samuel Maina, has been accused of collecting money from members to buy land, which it used as collateral for loans. Some of the land is now facing auction.
Simon Gathai, one of the affected members, invested Sh1.95 million on land within the Nairobi metropolitan in April 2018. He was promised that roads would be constructed, a perimeter wall and common areas for residents, but ever since, he has been waiting for his titles.
Benear Shapaya, another affected member, attended a ground-breaking ceremony for the co-operative's housing projects in 2016. He secured a Sh1 million bank loan to book a two-bedroom unit in Joska-OTG Phase 2, but as months turned into years, there was nothing to show for his money.
Jane Maina, who had invested Sh4.37 million, regrets having sold a plot on Thika Road to invest in the project. She was promised that all the units would be completed by November 2018, but that has not happened to date.
Susan Nyaga, who lost her husband in January 2017, was under a lot of stress, but the co-operative kept asking her to complete her payments while the bank was pushing her to service their loan.
