Members of a church in Kajiado want their money which was sunk in a land buying project refunded, saying that they were swindled.
The project involves over 400 members of Jephtha Self Initiative Social Ministry of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) in Ongata Rongai, who reportedly invested in a project that has not borne fruit three years down the line.
The company directors had asked members to make daily savings of as little as Sh50 in order to own property.
Others contributed to a bakery project that hardly took off, with the machinery rotting away.
Now members are asking Pastor Stephen Ndoria, the man behind the scheme, to refund the money.
Ms Susan Wanjiku, one of the investors, says she contributed over Sh40,000 towards the projects, only to be met with silence when she demanded that her money be refunded.
Citing Covid-19
She and other members say that their efforts to get an explanation bore no fruit when a meeting scheduled to address their plight was called off suddenly, with officials citing Covid-19 as the reason.
Reached for a comment, Rev Ndoria admitted that a number of investors have not yet been allocated their plots in spite of making full payment three years ago.
“We’ve 70 members who have not yet been shown their land,” he said.
The bakery business, he added, failed like any other business would.
However, Rev Ndoria did not explain how members’ savings invested in the white elephant project would be refunded and why it has taken long to address the plight of innocent, hardworking and needy members of the church.