Drama! Ekeza sacco members who lost millions beat lawyer for 'hiring' himself

Piece by: star.writer
Lifestyle

Confusion reigned in a Milimani commercial court on Thursday after disgruntled Ekeza Sacco members beat a lawyer they accused of representing them without their instruction.

Lawyers Samuel Mburu and Duncan Okatch both claimed they were acting on instructions from the sacco. Members attacked Mburu as he left the court. They said they did not hire him.

Court orderlies rescued the lawyer before the situation could get out of hand. The members were furious with Mburu. They have lost millions of shillings and will not allow a person they don't know to represent them, they said.

It emerged that Mburu and Okatch represent different factions of the sacco, Okatch allegedly for the interim board members and Mburu another group.

Okatch asked the court to set aside the court orders issued on Wednesday. They barred the interim members from taking office until the case filed by 11 members is concluded.

He said the orders were issued in his absence after the court directed them to discuss the issue of representation.

Okatch told magistrate I. Orenge that the officials had already taken charge when the orders were issued.

But Orenge noted the existence of two officer bearers and an order barring the interim team. He directed Ekeza to file a formal application if aggrieved by the orders.

In the case, the 11 members got temporary orders last week barring the state, through the commissioner of cooperative development, from taking over the management of sacco.

The commercial court stopped commissioner Mary Mungai from installing the new management committee.

Through lawyers James Mamboleo and Danstan Omari, the members had asked the court to intervene. Otherwise, they said, the sacco would be liable to neglect, plunder and wastage, which would severely diminish the value of the members' investment.

"The management of the sacco is about to be overturned whimsically by the commissioner, thus leaving its affairs in an uncertain state and open to loss and plunder," they argued

They said Mungai used their special general meeting on February 21 to institute a "dramatic and inexplicable regime change".

The current management committee comprises chairman David Gakuyo and seven members.

Mungai appointed a five-member interim committee headed by Charles Mage.

The case will be mentioned on March 22.