Directors of the troubled 130M Keiyo Housing Cooperative Society kicked out!
-John Chemagut was elected unanimously as interim chairman of the 5,000 member society-
A section of Keiyo House Cooperative Society in Eldoret /Photo James Gitaka
All the nine directors of the troubled sh 130 million Keiyo Housing Cooperative Society ( KHCS ) have been kicked out by members over alleged incompetence.
The directors were hounded out of office during a highly charged meeting held at Chepkorio showground in Keiyo sub county, Elgeyo Marakwet county.
John Chemagut was elected unanimously as interim chairman of the 5,000 member society pending the election of new directors in a five hour meeting that was graced by Deputy Commissioner of Cooperatives Priscila Maranga.
The kicking of the former directors marks the end of a decade-long leadership feud that had rocked the once vibrant Keiyo Housing Cooperative Society building that is located within the Eldoret town’s
central business district.
The dispute over the multi-million shilling property emerged after the former directors led by Titus Korir struck a deal with a private developer to demolish the existing building, construct a mall and run it for 15 years without the consent and knowledge of members.
After getting wind of the deal, a section of the rowdy members stormed the building and ejected the developer out as he was preparing to execute the plan to pull down the building which houses the 50 year old society.
During the Chepkorio meeting, members resolved among others, to shelve plans to demolish the building so as to pave the way for the construction of a multi-million shillings mall.
They also agreed that audits be carried out in their cooperative society to ascertain how funds running into millions of shillings were spent by the former directors under the chairmanship Titus Korir.
Members led by Elizabeth Kwambai, criticised the former directors for ganging up to enrich themselves from the rental income the property was bringing in every month at the expense of the poor shareholders.
Ms Kwambai claimed the former directors had conspired with the investor to disherit them of the prime property and declared as null and void the lease agreement which the private developer and former
directors had entered into.
She questioned the motive by the former directors to enter into a deal with the investor without seeking the input of all members terming their action as suspicious.
According to the controversial deal between the investor and the former directors, he was to recoup his money invested in construction for a period of 15 years through renting business spaces before handing over the property to the society members who would then receive an income of sh 237,867 million by the end of the lease period.
The Deputy Commissioner of Cooperative urged the society members to elect directors of integrity and avoid putting people in office whose characters were questionable.
“If you want the Keiyo cooperative society to grow and benefit all members, elect leaders of integrity who will safeguard your interest and the property,” said Maraga.
However, the former chairman Titus Korir defended the deal which he said had the blessing and goodwill of the members contrary to claims by some disgruntled shareholders.
“We followed due process before leasing the property to the private developer contrary to claims by some members who are not for the good of the society’s growth,” said Korir.
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