Kisii MCA Flees From House At Night Over Ksh32,000 Rent Arrears

A Kisii Member of County Assembly (MCA) fled from his house at midnight on Monday, January 30, leaving his landlord with Ksh32,000 rent arrears, having been his tenant for years.

Kitutu Central MCA Duke Nyarang'o was meant to pay the aforementioned amount to his landlord, which he failed according to an agreement.

The landlord, Philip Abuga, had revealed to journalists that Nyarang'o escaped in the wee hours of Monday night after he got wind of a planned visit by auctioneers the following day.

Auctioneers and police officers at the rental house of Kitutu Central Member of County Assembly Duke Nyarango on January 31, 2023. /VIRALTEAKE.ELIZABETH ANGIRA

It was this non-payment that forced Abuga, through his lawyer Nancy Koskei, to move to court.

"We have been instructed by our client Mr Philip Abuga to write to you in response to your letter dated January 19, 2023, which we hereby do and state as follows. That you have relentlessly declined to pay the requisite Ksh10,000 monthly rent and have since March 2021 without prior mutual agreement and/or contrary to what was agreed upon, decided to offset the monthly rent arrears by paying Ksh9,000 monthly rent.

"As such, our instructions are to demand from you, which we hereby do, that you pay the outstanding Ksh1,000 monthly arrears that have since March 2021 culminated to a total of Ksh22,000 as of December 2022 and Ksh10,000 being January rent," the demand letter seen by Viral Tea read in part.

It goes on to state that the termination of the tenancy lapsed on January 8, 2023, and the legislator was to surrender the house keys to the premises before January 31, 2023.

The landlord demanded Ksh32,000 in rent arrears, which Koskei further stated was to Nyarang'o's knowledge.

"Take further notice that our client declines and insistently maintain that the notice of termination of tenancy having lapsed on 8th January 2023 there is no Tenancy Agreement worth an extension and our client has already moved to court to assert his rights and seek redress.

"Kindly surrender the house keys to the premises before January 31, 2023," added the letter.

On Tuesday, Minmax auctioneers alongside police officers stormed the house of Nyarang'o but were surprised to discover that he had moved out.

Abuga further revealed that the lawmaker was supposed to vacate the house following the rent tussle with him.

“I tried to approach him to pay the rent according to the agreement but, he refused to adhere to the agreement. He had never shown signs of commitment to pay and that is why I resorted to court," said Abuga.

During the campaign period leading up to the 2022 general elections, Nyarang'o was accused of saying he was running low on cash to pay due to the campaigns and that after he was elected, he allegedly never bothered to pay.

At some point, the landlord said he had blocked his calls forcing him to use his friends' phones.

Abuga added that he moved to court to assert his rights and seek redress through a court order to evict him.

The accused MCA is yet to issue a statement over the matter.