Ekeza Refunds: members of the troubled Ekeza Sacco have received compensation amounting to Sh. 750 million. This has come in refunds of cash and land.
The sacco is associated with David Gakuyo who was required to forfeit property under his real estate firm, Gakuyo Real Estate. The forfeited property was in turn used as part of the refunds to members who had invested with he sacco. The properties are located in Subukia-Solai, Joska, Gwa Kungú, Kilimambogo, Mariakani, Konza Goshen, Konza Phase 6 and Nanyuki kwa Daiga.
“What was supposed to be refunded back was Sh. 1 billion and it was agreed that properties worth Sh. 881 million would be handed over to the sacco to compensate grieving members and that is what we have been using to pay back our members,” James Kagoni, who was appointed as acting chief executive officer at Ekeza by the government said.
Out of the Ekeza refunds, there now remains some Sh. 250 million to be disbursed to investors. Some 1,431 members with share deposits of Sh. 50,000 to Sh. 100,000 have also filed withdrawal forms and will get over Sh. 102 million in cash.
How Gakuyo took Sh. 1 billion from unsuspecting investors to fund lifestyle
An audit by the Commissioner of Cooperatives in 2018 showed that the sacco had a cumulative Sh. 2.5 billion in savings between 2014 and 2018. However, David Gakuyo had transferred a huge chunk of this money to his personal accounts where he used it to purchase among others palatial homes in posh neighbourhoods in Nairobi.
Gakuyo reportedly transferred the money between 2015 and 2017. The audit report was prepared by a team appointed by Commissioner for Cooperatives Mary Mungai in December 2018. The report showed that Gakuyo transferred Sh. 88 million in 2015, Sh. 850 million in 2016 and Sh. 625 million in 2017.