Deputy county chief spends night in prison over debt
A map of Kitale in Trans Nzoia County where Ms Rebecca Muturi of Trans Nzoia West Sub County was committed to civil jail for failing to pay damages to a bar owner. PHOTO/GOOGLE MAPS
What you need to know:
- She was committed to serve 14 days civil jail at the Kitale GK prison after failing to pay James Mulinge
- She was released after she paid Sh50, 000 and made a commitment to the plaintiff
An assistant county commissioner based in Trans Nzoia County spent a night in prison after failing to honour a directive by a court to pay damages to a bar owner.
Ms Rebecca Muturi of Trans Nzoia West Sub County failed to pay the businessman who had sued her for unlawful closure of his pub in 2005.
She was committed to serve 14 days civil jail at the Kitale GK prison after failing to pay James Mulinge the compensation that had accrued to Sh211, 262.
The court had on October 19, 2010 found her guilty of unlawfully closing down the wines and spirits bar and ordered she pay damages.
The assistant county commissioner was however released after she paid Sh50, 000 and made a commitment to the plaintiff before Kitale senior principal magistrate Julius Nang’ea that she will settle the remaining amount on August 14, 2014.
During the hearing of the case, the court had been told that on October 11, 2005, the assistant county commissioner who was by then a district officer at Kiminini division, closed down the wines and spirits shop and confiscated licenses belonging to the plaintiff.
The plaintiff went to court to seek compensation claiming he had suffered financial loss as a result of the closure.
In her defence, Ms Muturi had said she had closed down the pub following a series of complaints from locals that the owner played loud music.
