Thomas Kyumwa Kyangu had just retired from Kenya Telecom and wanted to buy a brand new Toyota Hiace
“I had seen a car advert at OLX platform,” he told Kibera chief magistrate Joyce Gandani. He sent his brother to Mombasa to check on the car.
“He brought me a report indicating he car I wanted was not there and he left my contact at the company," Kyangu said.
After a few days he received a call from a person claiming to be a sales person from the company advertising the Hiace.
“He told me he had the vehicle I wanted and sent me to a car yard in Nairobi Yaya area,” he told Gandani.
“I was picked by another person ... who took me to Yaya Centre car sales."
At the yard, he was shown the the car he wanted. He said a man identified as Kelvin picked the car keys from the office.
“We tested the vehicle and I was taken to Prestige Hotel. I went with an Indian man who introduced himself as Manji. We talked and he told me he would sell the car for Sh2.8 million,” Kyangu told court.
They settled on Sh2 million.
“He gave me a bank account and at one point, the Indian man wanted the cash but I said I would only pay through the bank transfer,” he told the court.
Kyangu said he and Kelvin went to the bank and transferred the money to the man's account.
“At the bank I gave Kelvin Sh75,000 cash which he claimed was for clearance, I also sent Sh100,000 to an M-Pesa number and after that I was told to collect the car on June 25, 2016.
"When I went there I never found Kelvin or the Indian and I was told the people were conmen. I reported the matter to the police,” he added.
Paul Makobe has been charged with obtaining Sh2 million from the complainant on June 23, 2016, at Kilimani area in Dagoretti with others not before the court.
He was charged with obtaining Sh1.8 million, saying he was in a position to sell a Toyota Hiace, a fact he new was false.
He denied the charges and on Thursday under cross-examination, he said he was not Indian.
Prosecutor Jeff Musyoka told the court he has closed his case and the magistrate allowed the defence to make their submission.
The hearing continues.
