During the reign of the late Daniel Arap Moi, Hosea Kiplagat, popularly known as ‘HK’ was a household name, he was the nephew to the president who also acted as his right-hand man and advisor.
The man who had started out as a prison warder had risen to unrivaled greatness, due to his political prowess, Moi made him his asset. However, 17-years later, his luck seems to have run out.
The former Co-operative Bank executive chairman is the latest to feel the heat from auctioneers as they come after his multimillion-shilling empire over Sh375 million accumulated in debt.
The loans which were taken separately by his companies, Eldoret Concrete Poles Limited and Timber Treatment Limited in May 2018 have been defaulted leading to the Bank of India (BOI), in an advertisement placed in the local dailies on Wednesday, instructing Garam Investments to sell several of the man's properties, including his Karen home, to recover the money that Mr. Kiplagat guaranteed his two firms.
Mr. Kiplagat then obtained an order from the High Court stopping the auctioneer from proceeding with the sale that had been set for August 25 and August 28.
Garam Investments is targeting HK's Karen home, which sits on five acres and 11 other pieces of land in Eldoret, belonging to the two companies.
His home in Nairobi’s Karen located along Quarry Lane off Bogani Road is a work of art, it sits on 5 acres in the area where an acre of vacant land averages Sh55 million. It hosts three bedrooms (master en-suite) bungalow, an executive business office, a guest wing as well as an entertainment centre and a squash court.
HK may lose the home which has a double-storeyed business room and guest entertainment block, a swimming pool (with fountain) and a baby pool, sauna and steam bath complex (with Jacuzzi), Office block complex, squash complex, three greenhouses and two beehives.
In 2007, Mr. Kiplagat unsuccessfully tried his hand in politics, losing the battle for Baringo Central parliamentary seat to former lands commissioner Sammy Mwaita.