Desperate man offers to sell his kidney to offset Sh330K bank loan
A Kenyan man hard pressed for cash is selling one of his kidneys to payback a bank loan and fend for his family and that of his deceased brother.
Thirty two year-old Joseph Mwiti Kithinji took a Sh280,000 loan from Equity Bank, Nkubu branch, in 2012 to lease a tea farm in Gaturi village, South Imenti, Meru county.
He hoped had the tea harvest would be enough to pay off the loan and provide him with some capital.
As security for the loan, he offered his sole asset, a dairy cow, and household items.
The tea harvest was however poor and could not repay the loan. The weather had not been conducive. Odd jobs like picking tea in farms were also hard to come by due to the poor harvest.
ACCUMULATED INTEREST
Soon, he started getting notices from the bank on possible auction. The principal amount had accumulated interest and he now owed the bank Sh330, 000.
On November 17, 2016, auctioneers came knocking at his door and took away his dairy cow which they later sold at Sh54, 700.
Still, the bank kept pressure for repayment of the balance and has been sending debt collectors to his home.
Deep in debt and pushed to his wits’ end, Mr Mwiti took a pen and paper on November 30, 2016 and penned the now infamous letter in which he offered to sell one of his kidney.
“I wrote the letter to no one in particular, just wanted to let it be known that I want to sell one of my kidneys,” he told Nairobi News in a phone interview on Monday.
“My brother is deceased and I am the caretaker of his left three children (sic). I owe Equity bank a loan of Sh3330, 000 which is major burden forcing me to sell my kidney. My account no. is as follows 0370192738305 Nkubu Equity Bank Branch. The same bank also came to my home and auctioned my only cow that my children depend on,” Mr Mwiti wrote in his letter.
He added; “Therefore I am left opress, have no alternative to solve the above issues (sic).”
Interestingly, the letter is postdated to December 30 2016.
The letter, which includes his portrait and telephone contacts, has since gone viral on social media.
The law is silent on the sale of body organs. The Human Tissue Act Cap 252 enacted in 1967 has never been repealed and it only touches on the use of body parts for medical purposes.
