Thika family clashes with auctioneer over Sh7 million lorries

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A family in Thika on Monday afternoon engaged in a heated confrontation with an auctioneering firm following the repossession of two lorries valued at approximately Sh7 million.

They said, the incident has left them financially and emotionally devastated.

The lorries, registration numbers KDB 265U and KCU 122U, were allegedly repossessed and sold without due process, according to the owner, Rufas Kiretai, who said the vehicles were his only source of income.

Speaking at the auctioneer’s officers, accompanied by his wife, four school-going children dressed in uniform, and other family members, Kiretai narrated that the loss of the vehicles had plunged his family into hardship.

A crowd gathered at the premises as the distraught family demanded answers from the auctioneering firm.

Although there is an ongoing legal dispute over the circumstances under which the lorries were repossessed and auctioned, he explained that the matter traces back to a 2018 road accident involving one of his drivers, who was charged with causing death by dangerous driving but was later acquitted by the court.

Despite the acquittal, Kiretai said he opted to settle the matter out of court with the family of the deceased.

“Under the agreement, I was required to pay compensation amounting to about Sh2.5 million, with 30 per cent allocated to legal fees,” he said.

Kiretai noted that he paid Sh1 million in cash to the deceased’s family and about Sh765,000 to the lawyer, with the remaining balance to be settled through monthly instalments of Sh45,000.

However, he alleged that during the repayment period, the auctioneer repossessed the two lorries and demanded more than Sh500,000 in repossession, storage and related charges before their release.

“Before I could raise the money, the vehicles were auctioned,” he claimed.

The loss, he said, has had devastating consequences for his family. His children have reportedly been sent home from school over unpaid fees, while a notice to vacate their one-bedroom house has been issued due to rent arrears.

Kiretai’s sister, Purity Wangeci, said the family had taken a bank loan secured against family land in a bid to recover the vehicles, only for them to be sold.

“My brother is living in a one-bedroom house with eight family members. There are rent arrears, the landlord is threatening eviction, and they have borrowed heavily from relatives and friends,” Wangeci said.

She said that the family now risks losing the land used as collateral for the loan.

“It is unfortunate that they no longer have the vehicles, and the land is also about to be repossessed by the bank. We are helpless,” she said.

Kiretai’s brother, Wilson Kang’aru, appealed to the auctioneering firm to reconsider the matter and return the lorries, saying he was ready and willing to pay all the required charges.

However, the owner of the auctioneering firm, Eliud Wambu, confirmed that the vehicles had already been auctioned, adding that the matter is now before the court.