Drama as Gikomba traders accuse Sacco of defrauding them millions
On Monday, January 16, 2023, chaos erupted at a Sacco accepting deposits and savings from Gikomba traders in Nairobi County.
Many traders now claim that they have been defrauded of their hard-earned money by the management and cannot either retrieve their funds or take out loans.
The traders caused a commotion as they shouted and insisted on speaking to the management, and at one point, they became physically agitated as they expressed their frustration and suffering.
A woman who addressed the media about her predicament said she had saved Sh350,000 with the Sacco, but it proved futile whenever she tried to get some of the cash.
“I was here last week and they told me to return on Monday, when I arrived here today, they again told me that the CEO was away for a burial,” she said, adding that it was not the first time that had happened.
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The woman said she would camp at the offices until she got back all her money because she was already tired of saving with them.
Another trader said that she had saved money with the Sacco for over three years, but anytime she headed there to get some cash, it proved futile.
“It is very unfortunate that what I have saved for the last three years might go down. All we now want is my money,” the trader said.
The company operates with stringent rules whereby members are asked to provide their original Identity Cards and Sacco passbook before any transactions occur.
When Nairobi News contacted the company, our calls went unanswered, but some company policies and profile clearly shows that it has operated for a while now.
For shareholding, one has to pay an amount of Sh20. One should also have a minimum shareholding that amounts to Sh1,000 and a shareholding certificate of 300 shares, equivalent to Sh6,000.
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For one to apply for a loan, the company clearly states that they need to have shares.
It states that the benefits of shareholding are that one automatically becomes the Sacco co-owner, will receive dividends at the end of every year and that shares can guarantee a member to get a loan.
When the management realized that things were becoming tough for them, they said that “savings can only be refunded after giving a six months notice.”
The memo was issued to the members of the Sacco on September 1, 2022, and to that effect, Ms. Leah Wangechi Njeri penned a letter asking to withdraw all her savings.
One of the company’s workers revealed that things became tough due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so the members should be patient with the management.
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