Elijah Mbugua, owner of a 33-seater PSV, Registration number KCG 784M plying the Ongata Rongai route has accused Choda Fabricators of refusing to honour a written agreement after the matatu (Schizzo) was destroyed in a fire while in their possession.
Mbugua says that he delivered the matatu to Chado in October 2016 after his insurance company declined to underwrite the claim. The Schizzo had been involved in an accident and behind the wheel was a ‘not properly licensed driver.’
Ranjeet Choda aka Ricky, one of the directors at Choda Fabricators agreed to repair the matatu at Sh500,000. On March 15, 2017, Mr Mbugua paid Sh250,000 to ensure that the repairs commenced. It was going to take six weeks, he was told.
But on April 22, 2017 there was a fire at the Choda storage which ‘consumed the driver’s and passengers’ cabin and all equipment and installations therein.’
Ricky, rubbished the claims saying that ‘it was a minor fire which did not affect the engine and did not cause the vehicle to be unroadworthy. It was only the cosmetics which were burnt.’
Mr Mbugua says that the damages as estimated by Primedots Auto Valuers amounted to Sh2.3 million.
The Choda director also accused Mbugua of not paying up storage charges for a year, and their charges being Sh5,000 per day.
Elijah, who is now seeking justice says that the company stored the matatu for six months only (October 2016 to March 2017).
”Ricky only stored the vehicle from October 2016 to March 2017. He did not store the vehicle because I had no place to keep it. NO!! If he was charging me for storage, I would have opted to keep the vehicle at home because I have more than enough space,” he says.
Responding to The Nairobian Defender, Ricky also pointed out that families whose loved ones had lost their lives in the accident had not been compensated and he (Elijah) was using the body builder as a scapegoat.
Read: 1,000 Traffic Marshals To Oversee Matatu Ban From CBD – Governor Sonko
Elijah has however not refuted the fact that people did indeed lose their lives in the accident, noting that ‘it is something I have to live with for the rest of my life.’
Mbugua also says that he has lost a significant amount of income since May, 2017 which amounts to around Sh2 million up to December 9, 2017.
”This issue has caused me so much trouble with my bank. I have been financing the loan repayment from my own pocket since September last year, and somewhere along the way, I was unable to continue with the repayments. I have accumulated loan arrears which have continued to pile up. This whole saga has caused me extreme psychological distress, and financial losses to say the least,” Mbugua says.
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