This archive report was first published on 1 August 2019.
Patrick Nderitu, the owner of Pimp My Ride East Africa, is facing fresh allegations of fraud after a Nairobi businessman claimed he was duped out of Sh5.6 million.
Harun Muiruri Ndung'u, who runs several businesses in Nairobi, wrote to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on June 27, 2018, claiming that Nderitu obtained the money from him under false pretenses.
According to Muiruri's letter, Nderitu promised to lease him space to set up a chemist shop at the junction of Kenyatta Avenue and Mundi Mbingu Street in Nairobi's Central Business District. Muiruri paid Nderitu Sh5.6 million in six tranches between late May and June 27, 2018, but never received any receipts or a lease agreement.
"I requested to be issued with the receipt documents acknowledging the transactions but his response was that they were not ready but he would follow up with the landlady to have them released to me," Muiruri said in the letter.
After demanding a refund of his money, Muiruri claims that Nderitu wrote bouncing cheques. Muiruri has accused the police of colluding with Nderitu and has been stonewalled in his efforts to recover his lost funds.
The allegations come as Nderitu's company, Pimp My Ride East Africa, is embroiled in a court case over the ownership of the prime plot of land at the junction of Kenyatta Avenue and Mundi Mbingu Street. The case has been ongoing for five years.
