Former Mathare MP George Wanjohi has surrendered a property to Parliament after failing to service the mortgage he took before losing his seat through a court petition and subsequent by-election in 2014.
National Assembly Clerk Michael Sialai said the Parliamentary Mortgage Scheme Fund has secured the title from Mr Wanjohi and the matter is now resolved.
“We now have a title deed for the mortgage that John Mike Wanjohi took. This matter is now resolved,” Mr Sialai told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
In 2017, former Clerk Justin Bundi told MPs that the fund had forwarded Mr Wanjohi’s matter to the Directorate of Litigation and Compliance office for further recovery.
“During the year under review, there was an issue of one Member of Parliament who lost both through a court petition and later a by-election (and) has since not serviced his mortgage facility,” Mr Bundi said then.
Mr Wanjohi, the then the National Alliance (TNA)’s MP for Mathare Constituency, lost his seat after the Court of Appeal annulled his election victory.
A three-judge bench declared that the electoral commission committed an offence and sustained an illegality when it recalled and cancelled the victory certificate it had earlier issued to Mr Wanjohi’s opponent, Stephen Kariuki who vied on an ODM ticket.
Mr Kariuki had been declared winner of the 2013 General Election with 34,076 votes against Mr Wanjohi’s 32,156 votes. However, matters changed three days later when the IEBC, through a letter directed Mr Wanjohi to surrender his victory certificate for cancellation saying it had been issued “erroneously”.
Mr Kariuki then won the August 2014 by-election that the appellate judges sanctioned.
Mr Sialai told PAC that the fund is also in touch with the estate and the family of former Imenti Central MP Gideon Mwiti Irea who died recently.
“We are in touch with the family and the administrators of the estate of the late MP to see how this matter can be resolved. We have safeguards and we have taken measures to ensure that the interest of PSC is protected,” Mr Sialai, who is the administrator of the scheme, said when he appeared before MPs to respond to audit queries.
“Those who have taken mortgage have given us the power of attorney to sale their properties in default. We charge and have title deeds ourselves.”
Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu had flagged the matter saying out of the Sh7.2 billion advanced to MPs and Parliament staff as mortgage, Sh61.2 million were non-performing loans.
Unlock a world of exclusive content today!Unlock a world of exclusive content today!
