Thomas Ondabu Obure has revealed his struggles to make ends meet and how he lost his hard earned Ksh 336,000 to Ekeza Sacco.
Obure narrated how he left Kenya for South Africa to get a job and help sustain his family as well as save money for his dream business.
Before traveling to South Africa, Obure was struggling to find a permanent driving job in Kenya.
The few casual jobs he got were not enough to ensure steady income to support his wife, two children and parents.
He then made up his mind to set off for a journey far away from home after a friend advised him to travel to South Africa to seek employment and save capital for his business.
He spent three days on the road traveling through Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, after which he paid a motorcycle rider to smuggle him into South Africa.
“When I got there, I got a job as a shop attendant, and I worked there for one year. I started thinking of other ways of earning income since the money I got there was not enough to cater for my family,” he said.
“I started mending shoes in the streets of Almanas in Cape town and managed to build a mabati house after six months.”
Obure explained that he saved money in a mattress since he didn’t have necessary documents to open bank accounts, as he was an illegal migrant.
How Obure Knew About Ekeza Sacco
He said his former boss who was also a Kenyan told him about Ekeza Sacco, where he could save money and then borrow up to three times his deposits.
“They gave me Ekeza Sacco contacts for the Yala Towers branch in Nairobi. I called them (Ekeza) and they asked for a copy of my ID, which I duly sent. They set up my account and, later told me to collect my documents. I sent my brother, George, who lives in Gachie, Nairobi to collect a booklet and other documents related to my account,” he said.
While in South Africa, Obure would send money to his brother’s mobile money wallet which he deposited in his Ekeza account.
Each deposit would be recorded in Obure’s passbook, and a receipt issued to his brother.
After saving Ksh 336,940 he decided to return to Kenya and venture into the matatu industry.
Return to Kenya
He traveled back to Kenya in October 2018 and Ekeza promised to give him Ksh 1 million shillings loan within one week.
The victim visited Yara towers (Ekeza Offices) presented the documents and told them he needed a loan but was told to wait for two weeks.
“After the two weeks, they didn’t call me, and I got worried and traveled back to Nairobi. They told me they weren’t issuing loans because they had issues and the government seized some of their assets. They told me to write a letter requesting for withdrawal of my money within 60 days,” he said.
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Left with littler options, he wrote the withdrawal form, but he was never refunded.
“I followed up with numerous calls, but no one picked, after a while they were switched off,’ said Obure.
He was again asked to travel to Nairobi and check out a piece of land in exchange for his savings.
Obure visited Ekeza’s offices in April 2022 and was promised a piece of land in Nakuru as compensation.
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However, like the earlier promise to refund his savings, no land has been transferred to Obure.
He is now contemplating a return to cape town to restart his dream of owning a matatu.
Ekeza Sacco Collapse
Calvary Chosen Church Bishop and Ekeza Sacco founder David Kariuki Ngari, also known as, Gakuyo was arrested on February 21 at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
The directorate of criminal investigations opened a probe into his dealings as the founder of the Sacco after allegations that he siphoned over Ksh1 billion through the troubled savings society.
However, Gakuyo in August 2023 said he was in the process of paying back members of the SACCO who had saved with the society.
He also noted then that Ekeza Sacco was cash strapped attributing it to financial challenges in the economy.
A 2017 audit by the Commissioner of Cooperatives revealed that over Sh1 billion had been transferred from Ekeza Sacco to companies owned or controlled by Gakuyo.
