Economy

Transporter accuses CMC of selling defective buses

court

The Milimani courts where a case has been filed against CMC. Photo/FILE

A transport company has sued motor dealer CMC Group for allegedly selling it a fleet of buses with defects that posed grave danger to passengers.

Three plaintiffs have moved to the Milimani Commercial Court seeking compensation for loss of business after the vehicles were grounded for engine malfunctions shortly after purchase.

The plaintiffs are also seeking a permanent injunction restraining CMC from selling “any further” the MAN brand of buses in Kenya, citing potential risks to passenger safety, unless the buses are certified by relevant bodies to be free of similar manufacturer defects.

James Wanyoike, Steka Travellers Limited, Ms Risper Mokeira Mokaya and Mr Joshua Nyakundi, through lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui, claim that the bus brand has inherent manufacturer defects and that CMC has deliberately failed to warn buyers of the latent dangers in its sales pitches.
They claim that the defects are in the bus engines that have rendered the product “ultimately unfit for long distance PSV purposes.”

“The buses were unable to ferry passengers who had paid for their respective journeys to completion and as such constituted to breach of traffic rules,” the suit papers say.

CMC has been served with the suit papers and its reply is being awaited before a hearing date can be fixed.

Mr Kinyanjui said that in the latter part of 2013, the plaintiffs desired to upgrade their fleet of buses and went to the CMC showroom in Nairobi where they were prevailed upon to purchase the MAN brand, presumably as a superior brand that is suited for long distance PSV business.

“This brand was represented to be the MAN brand, which had previously not been on offer for sale in Kenya,” Mr Kinyanjui said.

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The plaintiffs argue that pursuant to the sale preposition they were persuaded to buy the buses, having been convinced that they were suitable for long distance passenger carriage – a promise they never lived to perform.

“The plaintiffs aver that the MAN buses sold to them had manufacturer defects and were inherently defective, and that perhaps a physical inspection would have revealed the inherent defects.

The plaintiffs claim that the said buses suffered manufacturing defects to the engine during the subsistence of the warranty period.

“The defects allegedly rendered the buses unable to perform as PSV buses by reason of which the said sale was unethical, misleading unfair and which amounted to an improper trade practice,” the lawyer charged.

He said that while CMC was marketing and pitching for the MAN buses it misrepresented its performance.

“Had they known the true nature of the vehicles they would not have purchased them,” Mr Kinyanjui said.

CMC also stands accused of failing to take remedial action in time particularly of the passenger safety concern.