Kenya Insights

Tag: Mwananchi Credit

  • Mbadi Vows To Deregister Rogue Lenders As Mwananchi Credit, Others Escape Scrutiny From Court Technicality

    Mbadi Vows To Deregister Rogue Lenders As Mwananchi Credit, Others Escape Scrutiny From Court Technicality

    Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has fired a stunning warning shot at Kenya’s predatory lending industry, threatening to revoke the licences of microfinance and digital credit companies that deliberately structure loans to make repayment impossible, even as four of the sector’s most controversial players walked free from court on a legal technicality just days earlier.

    Appearing before the Senate on Wednesday, Mbadi named and shamed lenders who issue logbook-secured credit facilities with the sole objective of seizing and selling borrowers’ vehicles, not recovering debt. His remarks, which have since gone viral, come barely 48 hours after a High Court dismissed a constitutional petition that sought to kick Mwananchi Credit Ltd, Platinum Credit Ltd, Izwe Loans Ltd and Premier Credit Ltd out of the market for allegedly advancing digital credit without a valid licence from the Central Bank of Kenya.

    “There are lenders who issue credit facilities and take borrowers’ logbooks with the objective of selling the vehicles. They have structured the loans in such a way that repayment becomes practically impossible. Such entities must operate within the law or we will revoke their licences,” Mbadi told senators, his remarks broadcast live on national television.

    The CS’s intervention lands at a moment of acute public outrage over Kenya’s microfinance sector. Court records, regulatory data and investigative reporting have combined to paint a damning picture of an industry that for years operated like a financial cartel, inflating debts beyond recognition and terrorising borrowers through repossession tactics that judges have described, in open court, as gangster-like.

    The Court Escape

    The petition that collapsed on February 20 was filed by one Mark Muko, who argued that the four lenders had been advancing credit illegally, exposing borrowers to predatory interest rates, opaque loan terms and abusive recovery practices, all without the CBK’s regulatory blessing. It was a bold, broadly supported argument. It was also, the court found, brought to the wrong door at the wrong time.

    The High Court ruled that Muko had failed to first exhaust the dispute resolution mechanisms available under the Microfinance Act Regulations before approaching the bench. In pointed language, the judge observed that the petitioner had neither averred nor demonstrated that the regulatory complaint mechanism had been explored and a resolution communicated, making the petition both premature and procedurally improper.

    For Mwananchi Credit, Platinum Credit, Izwe Loans and Premier Credit, the ruling was a lifeline. But consumer advocates and legal practitioners say it was not an acquittal. The court did not rule that the companies were compliant. It ruled only that Muko had knocked on the wrong door first.

    “The ruling doesn’t give digital lenders a free pass,” one legal expert said. “CBK still retains full enforcement power. What the court is saying is that consumer protection claims must be grounded in evidence and proper procedure, not outrage alone.”

    A Pattern of Inflated Debts

    For Mwananchi Credit in particular, the reprieve from the Muko petition arrives amid a litigation storm that threatens to dwarf it entirely. The landmark 2023 High Court judgment in Jelangant and Another v Mwananchi Credit Ltd, in which Justice George Khaniri slashed a Sh22 million demand back to the Sh7 million principal originally borrowed, has become what lawyers now call legal dynamite in the hands of aggrieved borrowers.

    The Jelangant case exposed with surgical precision how Mwananchi Credit had demanded Sh15 million in interest and penalties from a borrower who had already fully repaid the principal. Justice Khaniri demolished the company’s defence that, as a non-deposit-taking microfinance institution, it was not bound by the in duplum rule, which prohibits interest from exceeding the principal loan amount. The judge held that any entity that earns interest is a lender subject to the rule, regardless of its regulatory classification.

    Mwananchi Credit offices

    That precedent has since reverberated across Kenya’s judiciary. In a separate case, High Court Judge Kizito Magare blocked Mwananchi Credit from selling two seized lorries belonging to traders who had borrowed Sh2.5 million, repaid Sh3 million, and were still being pursued for a further Sh6.25 million through unregistered chattel mortgages that the court declared void. Judge Magare was scathing, stating from the bench that he was unable to fathom the mathematical permutations that had turned a Sh2.5 million loan into a Sh9.25 million claim, and warning that courts would not allow microfinance companies to operate like shylocks.

    Court records reviewed by Kenya Insights show at least fifteen active cases filed against Mwananchi Credit in 2024 and 2025 alone.

    Conservative estimates place potential combined claims against the company at over Sh2 billion, should even a fraction of aggrieved borrowers successfully challenge their loan terms. In another documented case, Harrogate Limited borrowed a Sh50 million facility that ballooned to Sh177.5 million in under two years, with the borrowers alleging they received only Sh30 million in disbursements despite being charged for the full amount, and that the rules of engagement were changed midway through repayment.

    Mwananchi Credit has consistently denied wrongdoing. Company management has claimed the firm offers some of the lowest interest rates in the market and insists that complaints are fabrications by competitors. The company did not respond to requests for comment at the time of going to press.

    Mbadi’s Crackdown

    The Treasury CS, responding to Senate questions raised by Kisumu Senator Tom Ojienda through Bungoma Senator Wafula Wakoli, outlined a sweeping package of regulatory reforms designed to restore order in a sector that has grown at breakneck speed while leaving a trail of financial devastation.

    Mbadi disclosed that the CBK now mandates all Non-Deposit Taking Credit Providers to be licensed under a comprehensive Digital Credit Providers regulatory framework, setting strict eligibility criteria, governance standards and consumer protection obligations. As of December 2025, there were 195 licensed NDTCPs advancing a combined Sh110.5 billion in credit to Kenyan borrowers.

    The CS also revealed that fines for violating the Banking Act have been quadrupled, from Sh500,000 to Sh2 million, in a move Mbadi described as designed to be dissuasive and instil discipline. When Senator Moses Kajwang’ pressed him on lenders whose interest charges exceed twice the principal amount, Mbadi confirmed that credit providers must have their pricing models approved to ensure compliance with the in duplum rule under Section 44 of the Banking Act.

    The CBK is also working with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner to enforce uniform data privacy standards, following a wave of abusive debt collection practices that have included doxxing borrowers’ contacts and bombarding third parties with humiliating messages.

    Competition Authority of Kenya data underpins the urgency of the crackdown. Consumer complaints against microfinance and digital lenders surged by 28 percent in 2025 compared to the previous year, the steepest annual increase on record for the sector.

    A Regulatory Crossroads

    The simultaneous unfolding of Mbadi’s Senate address and the court’s dismissal of the Muko petition captures the contradictory reality facing Kenya’s overstretched borrowers. On one hand, the government is making its most forceful public declaration yet that the era of predatory lending is over. On the other, the very companies at the centre of that predation are escaping accountability on procedural grounds that, while legally sound, feel like cold comfort to borrowers who have watched debts triple and vehicles disappear.

    For fintechs and microfinance houses operating in Kenya, the dual message is nevertheless unmistakable: get licensed, maintain transparent pricing, and keep your paperwork clean, or face a regulator that is no longer willing to look the other way.

    For the hundreds of borrowers now armed with the Jelangant precedent and emboldened by the Treasury’s public stance, the fight is far from over. The Muko petition may have failed on procedure. But the substance of what it alleged, that certain lenders are operating outside the law and beyond the reach of basic consumer protection, remains a live and explosive question in Kenya’s courts, Parliament and regulators’ offices alike.

    The deluge, as one legal observer put it, has only just begun.

  • Mwananchi Credit Faces Massive Lawsuits After Court Flags Predatory Lending That Left Customers’ Loans Ballooning

    Mwananchi Credit Faces Massive Lawsuits After Court Flags Predatory Lending That Left Customers’ Loans Ballooning

    Courts Open Floodgates Against Mwananchi Credit As Emboldened Borrowers Mount Massive Challenge To Predatory Lending Practices

    Mwananchi Credit Limited is staring at a litigation avalanche that could cripple its operations after the landmark Jelangant ruling opened the floodgates for hundreds of aggrieved borrowers to challenge astronomical debt inflation that has become the microfinance giant’s trademark business model.

    The July 2023 High Court judgment that slashed a Sh22 million claim back to the original Sh7 million principal has become legal dynamite in the hands of borrowers nationwide, with court filings revealing a disturbing pattern of debt manipulation that transforms manageable loans into financial nightmares through creative accounting that even judges cannot comprehend.

    Justice Kizito Magare captured the absurdity perfectly when he stated he was unable to fathom the mathematical permutations that caused a Sh2.5 million loan to balloon to Sh9.25 million despite borrowers repaying Sh3 million, declaring that if microfinance companies are allowed to operate like shylocks, the court would be missing its duty .

    That sentiment is now reverberating across Kenya’s judiciary as borrowers file case after case armed with the Jelangant precedent establishing that the in duplum rule, which caps interest at the principal amount, applies universally to all lenders regardless of licensing status.

    Justice George Khaniri demolished Mwananchi Credit’s defense that it operated outside banking regulations, holding that being a lender who earns interest subjects any entity to the rule regardless of regulatory classification .

    Court records examined by Kenya Insights reveal at least fifteen active cases against Mwananchi Credit filed in 2024 and 2025, with legal practitioners reporting consultation requests have surged over 400 percent since the Jelangant ruling became public knowledge.

    The financial implications are staggering. Conservative estimates based on documented cases suggest potential claims exceeding Sh2 billion if even a fraction of aggrieved borrowers successfully challenge their loan terms.

    The company’s vulnerability stems from a systematic business model critics characterize as designed to capture collateral rather than facilitate genuine economic activity.

    Court documents show Harrogate Limited borrowed a Sh50 million facility that ballooned to Sh177.5 million in less than two years, with borrowers claiming they only received Sh30 million in disbursements despite being charged for the full amount, and rules changing midway through repayment .

    What makes the current legal onslaught particularly threatening is the shift in judicial attitude.

    Courts increasingly view the in duplum rule as addressing a social and public interest issue where lenders target defaulters as profit-making machines, with the rule meant to protect borrowers from exorbitant interest accumulation and ensure lenders cannot use borrowers as cash cows .

    The regulatory environment is simultaneously tightening.

    Recent reforms including the Business Laws Amendment Bill of 2025 banned harassment by microfinance lenders while strengthening Central Bank oversight, responding to surging consumer complaints.

    Competition Authority data shows microfinance complaints jumped 28 percent in 2025 compared to 2024, validating borrower grievances about predatory practices.

    Multiple cases reveal Mwananchi Credit’s aggressive tactics, including one instance where lorry repossession was described by courts as gangster-like, with traders who borrowed Sh2.5 million and repaid Sh3 million still being pursued for an additional Sh6.25 million through unregistered chattel mortgages the court deemed void .

    The company has consistently denied wrongdoing, with management claiming to offer some of the lowest interest rates in the market and insisting complaints are fabrications by competitors.

    Company executives argue they became market leaders by putting clients first, with most loans repaid on time and clients returning for additional facilities . Yet the mounting adverse court findings undermine such defenses.

    Legal experts predict the litigation wave will force fundamental changes in microfinance business models. Lenders can no longer hide behind complex fee structures and creative accounting that obscure true borrowing costs.

    Courts are demanding transparency and fairness, increasingly willing to invoke equitable jurisdiction to refuse enforcement of exploitative contracts.

    For borrowers, the Jelangant precedent represents a watershed moment.

    What was once accepted as inevitable financial ruin is now being challenged successfully in courts that recognize unconscionable terms deserve no legal protection.

    The message is clear: predatory lending practices that served Mwananchi Credit’s spectacular growth are now facing legal reckoning that threatens the company’s very survival.

    The litigation floodgates have opened, and the deluge is only beginning.

    Mwananchi Credit must now defend its entire business model against borrowers armed with judicial precedent that views their exploitation as fundamentally unjust.

    Justice has arrived for Kenya’s aggrieved borrowers, delivered through courts finally willing to protect the vulnerable from financial predators masquerading as legitimate lenders.

  • SHOCKING LOAN SCANDAL: Mwananchi Credit Slammed for Turning Sh7 Million Loan Into Sh22 Million Debt Trap

    SHOCKING LOAN SCANDAL: Mwananchi Credit Slammed for Turning Sh7 Million Loan Into Sh22 Million Debt Trap

    A Kenyan microfinance company has been caught red-handed in a brazen case of predatory lending that saw a borrower’s debt balloon from Sh7 million to a staggering Sh22 million, sparking outrage and raising serious questions about the unregulated lending practices that continue to fleece unsuspecting Kenyans.

    In the landmark case Jelangant and Another v Mwananchi Credit Ltd, the High Court delivered a crushing blow to the lender, quashing the astronomical Sh15 million interest claim and declaring the excessive charges unconscionable and unenforceable.

    The court’s decision has sent shockwaves through Kenya’s microfinance sector, exposing the dark underbelly of an industry that has long operated in the shadows.

    The shocking details of the case paint a picture of financial exploitation that would make even the most hardened shylocks blush.

    The plaintiff had diligently repaid the entire Sh7 million principal amount borrowed from Mwananchi Credit Limited.

    But instead of celebrating the repayment, the microfinance company turned around and demanded an additional Sh15 million in interest and penalties, transforming what should have been a closed file into a never-ending nightmare of debt.

    Justice George M. Khaniri, delivering the judgment in July 2023, made it clear that the in duplum rule, which protects borrowers from runaway interest charges, applies not just to banks but to all lenders, including microfinance institutions.

    The rule, embedded in Kenya’s Banking Act, states that interest on a debt should never exceed the principal amount of the loan, a protection designed to prevent exactly the kind of exploitation Mwananchi Credit attempted.

    The court heard how Mwananchi Credit, a non-deposit-taking microfinance company, had tried to wriggle out of accountability by arguing it wasn’t bound by the same rules as banks.

    The lender claimed it operated under general contract law principles and that the 10 percent monthly interest rate was a term voluntarily agreed to by the borrower.

    But the judge wasn’t buying it.

    The court found that being a lender who earns interest, Mwananchi Credit was subject to the in duplum rule, citing precedent from other cases where microfinance institutions were held to the same standard.

    The ruling represents a watershed moment for consumer protection in Kenya, where borrowers have long been at the mercy of lenders who hide behind legal loopholes to justify exorbitant charges.

    The case exposes a systematic problem in Kenya’s microfinance sector.

    Courts in Kenya have been grappling with whether the in duplum rule applies beyond banks to microfinance institutions and other non-banking entities, with some judges extending protection to all borrowers while others maintain the rule applies only to institutions specifically regulated by the Banking Act.

    This legal ambiguity has created a wild west environment where unscrupulous lenders prey on vulnerable Kenyans.

    Legal experts say the Jelangant case should serve as a wake-up call.

    The in duplum rule is widely regarded as a consumer protection mechanism that mitigates exploitative lending practices and encourages lenders to take proactive steps to recover loans in a timely manner.

    Yet many microfinance companies have brazenly ignored these protections, leaving borrowers drowning in debt.

    Mwananchi Credit is no stranger to controversy.

    Court records reveal a pattern of aggressive lending practices that have landed the company in legal hot water multiple times.

    In another case, High Court Judge Kizito Magare blocked the microlender from selling two seized lorries, noting that traders who borrowed Sh2.5 million and repaid Sh3 million were still being pursued for more money, with the judge questioning how the debt had mysteriously ballooned to over Sh9 million .

    Judge Magare was particularly scathing in his assessment, stating he was unable to fathom the mathematical permutations that caused such dramatic debt inflation, and warned against allowing microfinance companies to operate like shylocks .

    The company has also faced accusations of gangster-like repossession tactics and questionable debt calculations that leave borrowers confused and helpless.

    Despite claiming to offer some of the lowest interest rates in the market and positioning itself as a customer-friendly alternative to traditional banks, the mounting court cases tell a different story.

    Kenya’s financial sector has seen a surge in predatory practices, with the Competition Authority of Kenya reporting a 28 percent increase in consumer complaints against lenders in 2025 compared to 2024.

    The problem is particularly acute in the digital and microfinance lending space, where lack of proper regulation has allowed companies to impose hidden charges, harass borrowers, and inflate debts beyond recognition.

    Recent reforms, including the Business Laws Amendment Bill of 2025, have sought to ban harassment by microfinance and digital lenders and strengthen Central Bank of Kenya oversight . But critics argue enforcement remains weak, and borrowers continue to suffer.

    For the plaintiffs in the Jelangant case, the court victory represents justice finally served after years of fighting an uphill battle against a system that seemed stacked against them.

    The court’s decision to limit Mwananchi Credit’s recovery to only the Sh7 million principal amount sends a powerful message: predatory lending will not be tolerated, no matter how cleverly lenders try to disguise their exploitation.

    The ruling also establishes important precedent for thousands of other Kenyans trapped in similar situations.

    The court’s finding that contracts which are unconscionable, unfair, or oppressive can be refused enforcement provides a critical tool for borrowers to challenge exploitative lending terms .

    As Kenya’s microfinance sector continues to grow, providing crucial access to credit for millions locked out of traditional banking, the need for stronger regulation and enforcement has never been more urgent.

    The Mwananchi Credit case exposes the dark side of an industry that promises financial inclusion but too often delivers financial ruin.

    Consumer advocates are calling for comprehensive reforms that would extend in duplum protections explicitly to all forms of lending, close legal loopholes that allow predatory practices, and impose harsh penalties on lenders who violate consumer protection laws.

    Until such reforms are enacted and enforced, the question remains: how many more Kenyans will see their debts mysteriously triple before the government steps in to stop the bleeding?

    For now, the Jelangant ruling stands as a beacon of hope that the courts will protect borrowers from exploitation, even when the law remains murky and enforcement weak.

    But one court victory cannot fix a broken system.

    The battle against predatory lending in Kenya has only just begun.

  • ‘Shylock’ Mwananchi Credit On The Spot Over Rampant Breach Of Loan Interest Agreement With Clients

    ‘Shylock’ Mwananchi Credit On The Spot Over Rampant Breach Of Loan Interest Agreement With Clients

    If there’s one thing that’s certain, the pandemic has thrown many into financial distress, jobs have been lost, bills have remained constant. In search for stability and weathering the storm, Ms y Kenyans have to resort for boat from different credit facilities. Common in town is the lending from growing credit facilities, for a few it’s merry, for many, it’s been a death trap, many shylocks have smartly dressed their outfits as professional micro finance firms and baiting their preys for hell.

    Local dailies have pages dedicated for auctions, ever full. The issue then is it just about defaulting loans by clients or simply lenders engaging in Shylock impunity since CBK appears to be senile in the matter? Read around, ask around households, there’s always a horror story with lenders.

    In August 2013, DCI detectives raided a palatial home at Mountain View Estate along Kiambu in a tip-off operation and found more than 20 posh cars parked in his residence. At first, they thought that it was part of a car theft syndicate but they later established that the cars belonged to some of the clients that a Shylock agency had loaned money and they had failed to pay.

    Dennis Mwangeka Mombo the owner of the Shylock agency and whose compound the cars were impounded was arrested and later released after it emerged he was holding the cars as security. The tip off came from loanees who alleged that he was disposing their cars without authority. If there’s one person you want to deal with then it’s a Shylock, they’re heartless, ruthless and play by only one code, street.

    Mwananchi founder and CEO Dennis Mombo.

    Mr. Mambo who by then was the fiancé to KTN’s Linda Ogutu, grew his business, rebranded and hid the Shylock agency under Mwananchi Credit of which he’s the founder. The credit facility has grown overtime to be one of Kenya’s most popular facilities given aggressive advertisements, great gag tactics to bottle negative publicity.

    Shylocks have taken advantage of inaccessibility of bank loans to strip many Kenyans of their prime assets, mainly matrimonial homes and cars.

    Documents filed in court reveal a shocking trend where money lenders move in to auction hapless borrowers’ property after slapping them with huge default penalties as high as five times the borrowed amount. Digital mobile apps and micro-lenders are at the forefront of expanding the Shylock economy. The lenders are thriving by advancing huge sums of money based on collateral that they dispose of at the slightest hint of default.

    One such lender, Mwananchi Credit Limited, is fighting off multiple suits by clients who accuse the firm of seeking to dispose of their property after loading high interest and penalty charges that put repayment out of their reach.

    A borrower Harrogate Limited and its director Alice Muthoni Thuo have taken to court Mwananchi Credit and are accusing them of interest loan infringement for a credit facility they had applied back in 2020.

    It was a Ksh.50 million credit facility that has since accrued to Ksh.177.5 million in less than two years.

    In a sworn affidavit, the two complainants say the defendant only disbursed Ksh.43,121,980 and not Ksh.50 million as agreed.

    According to the initial agreement, the borrowers were to pay an interest of Ksh.6.12 million in five months and pay the remaining balance of interest and principal on the  sixth month.

    The facility was attracting an interest of five percent and a loan processing fee of Ksh.2.5 million, loan application fee of Ksh.500,000 being one percent of the total loan.

    They were also charged Ksh.300 for loan papers and another Ksh.300 for Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) check fees.

    They contend that Mwananchi Credit only disbursed Ksh.30 million in two instalments, Sh15 million to Harrogate Limited on February 25, 2020 and a similar amount to Alice Muthoni Thuo’s account three days alter.

    According to the court documents, the micro-finance was reluctant to channel the remaining  balance of Sh20 million despite numerous follow ups.

    Two months after getting the first tranche of the loan, the applicants received an email from the lender compelling the first plaintiff to pay Sh3.3 million interest failing which a penalty of five percent every week will apply.

    They argue that rules had changed midway. On June 28 the same year, the lender informed the borrowers that the amount due was Ksh.63.26 million, implying the Ksh.30 million facility had accrued interest of over Ksh.32 million in just four months.

    The affidavit shows that to avoid penalty as threatened by the defendant,  Harrogate Limited paid an interest of Ksh.3.3 million on March 28, 2020 upon which the lender disbursed Ksh.5,624,980 as the second tranche of the loan.

    On July 2, 2020, the defendant requested the first applicant to execute the letter of Sh7 million and insisted that the amount be utilised towards payment of the first drawdown or apply a five percent weekly penalty,

    This prompted the applicants to seek clarification from the lender on August 17 via email.

    The microlender did not respond but instead proceeded to have the first plaintiff execute the second Letter of Offer on September 9 for an aggregate loan amount of Ksh.76,604,792.

    The same micro-lender has been accused accused by a section of borrowers for changing rules midway with an intention to property offered as security. It has naturally overtime denied the claims.

    In 2018, a borrower, George Washington Mallan Omondi, fought to stop Mwananchi Credit Limited from disposing of his Lavington home after he defaulted on repaying Sh6.5 million borrowed in May 2017.

    Mr Omondi was shocked that the loan accrued Sh14 million interest by March 2018. Mwananchi Credit was going to dispose of his house, valued at Sh200 million, at a throwaway price.

    Mr Omondi said he borrowed Sh8.9 million to be repaid in six months but received only Sh6.5 million and was told the difference covers interest.

    This is just one of the many suits the firm is fighting off. Wilfred Omondi Opiyo borrowed Sh2 million to be repaid in three months with interest of Sh661,998. He used his property in Kajiado as collateral.

    He says he repaid two instalments but due to financial difficulties defaulted on the third.

    Mwananchi Credit Limited moved to sell his property to recover Sh4.2 million, which it said was the outstanding amount.

    Kiambu ex-governor Ferdinand Waititu.

    Its not just ordinary people that have had to deal with Mwananchi Credit’s wrath, Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu has had a run with the micro lender and had to seek court’s cushion in April this year when they came for him.

    Waititu had allegedly defaulted on a Sh10 million car loan he took from Mwananchi Credit Limited in January 2020.

    The micro-finance company was now seeking to auction the ex-county boss’s motor vehicles to get back their money.

    Waititu had used two logbooks to secure the loan.

    The former governor moved to court seeking to stop the planned auction, claiming he is currently financially constrained after he lost his job as Kiambu county boss in January 2020 over graft and abuse of office allegations.

    Waititu in his application filed at the Kiambu Law Courts, said that he was unable to raise the money because there is no regular monthly income credited to his bank account.

    “I am seeking more time to sell some of my property and use the money to offset the loan. Alternatively, the lender should allow me to settle the loan in installments,” Waititu pleaded.

    Mwananchi Credit Limited seized the two vehicles Waititu used as collateral to secure the loan.

    Mwananchi credit limited has also been accused of conning unsuspecting members in a series of insider logbook loans fraud.

    For the better part of 2020, there were several complaints about microfinance firms offering God’s speed logbook loans.

    Many unsuspecting Kenyans get enticed easily when they see that they are offering logbook loans from as low as 2.5% pm with the loans allegedly being disbursed within 6 hours.

    Auction on fully repaid loan.

    Mwananchi Credit Limited were put in the spot in 2020 after they allegedly declined to release a client’s car plus his logbook months after clearing his loan.

    The client accused the company of taking advantage of the covid-19 pandemic situation to charge higher interest rates and penalties on a loan he defaulted after the country was put on lockdown.

    In late 2019, Mr. Dennis Otieno took a buy off loan of Ksh. 1, 030, 562 which was used to purchase a Toyota Hiace Matatu.

    Up until when President Kenyatta ceased all inter county movement, Mr. Otieno was comfortably paying his monthly installments of about 84,000/.

    The countrywide lockdown was a blow to him as his Matatu business grounded and to make matters worse he lost his job.

    In April he was not able to repay the month’s installment and things got from bad to worse as Mwananchi quickly repossessed his vehicle which was plying the Nairobi Kisii route.

    For a man whose sources of income had dried up, the financial institution did not come to a reasonable agreement with Mr. Otieno and between the months of May and September, he managed to secure another loan from Rafiki Bank which he used to offset the 1 million loan which had now accrued to Ksh. 1.7 million.

    After negotiating with Mwananchi Credit, Otieno was given until August 27th to clear his loan upon which his vehicle and logbook would be returned to him.

    In a guarantee letter dated 24th August 2020, Mwananchi Credit, unconditionally and irrevocably agreed to release Mr. Otieno’s vehicle and logbook within 48 hours after Rafiki Bank paid the total 1.7 million buy off from them.

    “We shall within 48 hours of the payment of the outstanding loan….commence the transfer process of the logbook from our name to that of Rafiki Microfinance Limited” read part of the undertaking guarantee letter.

    In the guarantee letter, Mwananchi Credit through their advocates promised to refund the money within 48 hours if they fail to complete the transfer to Rafiki Bank’s name.

    On the 9th of September, Rafiki Bank bought off Otieno’s loan and repaid Mwananchi in full, one week after the agreed period of payment.

    Otieno’s troubles escalated when upon going to claim his repossessed vehicle and logbook he was asked to pay another Ksh. 502,000.

    The company has been taking Otieno in circles demanding that he repays the money. The complaint said that he had no idea where the money came from yet Rafiki Bank already bought off the loan in totality.

    Otieno claimed that Mwananchi Credit Limited Director, one Mr. Dennis Mombo said that the penalty was for failing to repay the loan on time, after Rafiki Bank delayed by one week and half in disbursing the money.

    Otieno further said that he was astounded when he stumbled upon an advertisement in Daily Nation’s copy of November 16th, where his Matatu had been put up for Auction on behalf of Mwananchi Credit Limited.

    Otieno is now rapaying Rafiki Bank’s 1.7 million loan, a feat he says is burdensome since his source of income has been held and put up for sale.

    Reached for comment, Mwananchi Credit refuted Otieno’s claims saying that he still owed them 502,000 shillings.

    The complaints on the facility are countless and harsh.

    In 2018, Annerlisa Muigai, the heiress to the Keroche Breweries multi-billion empire implicated Dennis Mombo the CEO in an alleged fraud. Anerlisa came out to deny claims she defaulted of a Ksh19.9 million loan, which she borrowed from the Nairobi businessman.

    In a post on her social media platforms, Annerlisa said Ben Kangangi (the man who she borrowed money), who used to sell cars, colluded with Dennis Mombo Mwangeka to have her provide security for the disputed loan, which he claims was to be used to finance a government tender for the supply of electric cables.

    Annerlisa says she gave Kangangi Ksh 7 million and asked him to borrow the rest from elsewhere and that is when the drama ensued. She adds that Kangangi and Mwangeka could also be seen drinking together despite the former’s earlier assertion that they did not know each other. The matter ended up in court with Dennis suing Anerlisa for defamation.

    Benji Ndolo was tracked down by auctioneers and was humiliated at Nairobi CBD as his vehicle was towed away over unserviced loans.

    Initially trading as Mwananchi Microlink Ltd from 15th April 2010, it officially changed names to Mwananchi Credit Limited on 10th January 2012.

    CBK has failed in its mandate to shield the public from predatory loans and shylocks who operate with the ultimate impunity. In a country where laws exists, it’s sad to see authorities giving space for the uncouthness. However, all is not lost, if you feel you’ve been shortchanged by your lender, the court must be your immediate remedy, even though we’re told that Mwananchi Credit have their boys in the corridors, a good lawyer will save you a lot. Don’t be subdued.

    For how long will CBK allow Mwananchi Credit and alike facilities to keep terrorizing unsuspecting customers without any punishment? It’s a shame the ordinary have been left in the wild alone for the prey.