A Nyeri man has been asked to pay Sh. 1.7 million for a junk car or lose his land. According to a shocking report that appeared in the Daily Nation on Thursday, Andrew Githinji who is aged 80 years has been asked to pay the money by a garage that is owned by Joel Maina.
The report shows that this money is the accumulation of interest and storage fees for the vehicle.
Apparently, Maina through his lawyers has been threatening to auction off his land to recover the money.
The report says that on December 17, 2019, Githinji received a letter from the Maina’s lawyers, demanding Sh. 1,706,331 dating back to 2005.
“Your vehicle … has been in our client’s storage from April 22, 2005, up to October 24, 2019, a total of 5,349 days. What our client claims against you is 5,349 days by 250, which equals Sh. 1,337,250 with a VAT of 213, 960. Sh. 1,551,210 has now become due,” the lawyers said, adding that with their legal fees, the total amount came to Sh. 1,706,331,” the demand letter said.
According to the report, Githinji’s Peugeot Salon vehicle had been damaged by thugs in 2005 when he was carrying police officers to stop a robbery. Three thugs were killed and two loaded guns were recovered.
The vehicle was extensively damaged and the cost of repair at Maina’s garage was quoted at Sh. 40,000.
According to the Nation report, the Central Police boss Njue Njagi offered to take care of his bill as a token of appreciation for his brave act. They asked him to tow the vehicle to Maina’s garage where other police vehicles were repaired.
However, Njagi died in 2019 before the bill could be cleared. Since then, Maina started charging Githinji daily storage fee and a penalty of 15 per cent that has now accumulated to over Sh. 1.7 million.
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The vehicle though is unrecognizable. It has broken down irreparably. Asked why it has deteriorated that much, Maina insisted to the Nation that it was due to Githinji’s failure to collect it.
“We repaired the body and with time, the outer part became weak because of corrosion. And because it didn’t have a windscreen, sometimes the rain and the vagaries of the weather destroyed it. Due to its heavy engine and weak body, it was destroyed during transit. But he has to pay my debt,” Maina told the local daily.
To stop his land from being auctioned off over a junk car, Githinji has been attempting to table his case before the Ministry of Interior. His efforts have been unsuccessful as the Ministry is not willing to honour the agreement he made with the late police boss Njagi.
