EX MP GIDEON MWITI’S LATEST PYRAMID SCHEME DRESSED AS A SACCO UNMASKED

The flamboyant Mwiti is mostly remembered for his unending chain of ventures most notably two pyramid schemes – Kenya Akiba Micro-Finance and Kenya Business Sacco

Hon.Gideon Mwiti Irea

Former Imenti Central Member of Parliament, Gideon Mwiti Irea, is again on the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Following months of investigations, The Weekly Vision online can authoritatively report that Hon. Mwiti is currently operating another pyramid scheme disguised as a Cooperative Sacco.

The Sacco is located at Cianda House along Koinange Street in Nairobi and is called Africa Pooling Resources Together Sacco (APRT Sacco) with branches in Westlands, Ngara, Ongata Rongai, Ngong and Kitengela. It is the new platform through which Mwiti is minting millions from innocent and unsuspecting Kenyans.  

                 APRT Sacco banner 

The flamboyant Mwiti is mostly remembered for his unending chain of ventures most notably two pyramid schemes – Kenya Akiba Micro-Finance and Kenya Business Sacco. Simply put, he is Kenya’s version of Bernard Madoff - that crooked U.S swindler who was sentenced to 150 years in prison for running the world’s largest pyramid scheme. 

Those who are keen to rewind their memory backwards will recall how in 2013 Mwiti used his wealth, courtesy of Kenya Akiba Micro-Finance and Kenya Business Sacco to buy his way to parliament. But his tenure as MP ended abruptly after just one term after he got mired into an explosive sex scandal with a female journalist who accused him of having raped her inside his office in Westlands.

 

Former MP Gideon Mwiti at the Milimani law courts 

At the height of the sex saga, Mwiti was equally mired in another scandal whereby he was being accused of running a pyramid scheme in the name of Kenya Land Sacco, a company that was promising investors prime land around the country. Kenya Land Sacco closed shop after Mwiti and his bank signatories emptied the bank accounts rendering the Ngara-based financial institution bankrupt.

Kenya Akiba Micro-Finance went down in 2005 with billions of cash leaving behind a trail of death and broken homes & marriages. On its part Kenya Business Sacco folded up in 2008, again going down with billions of people’s deposits. Apparently, Mwiti has never been prosecuted over Kenya Business Sacco rip-off which was largely the prime source of funds for politicians allied to the ruling party, PNU in the infamous 2007 general election. Mwiti’s View Park Towers based Kenya Business Sacco was only second to DECI in terms of deposits and fame.

And now back to APRT Sacco saga

Through the much-publicized APRT Sacco Mwiti claims to be able to deliver your dream of owning a house, land and/or even a car. The registration amount is 5,000/- per person. Once the 5,000/- is paid, one is given a useless share certificate and duped into believing he or she can now access credit at 5 times their deposits. Even established Saccos such as Mwalimu, Harambee, Afya advance loans at 3 times of one’s deposits. 

Through his shrewdness and a team of ruthless marketers, APRT has managed to convince many Chamas and Merry go rounds from across the country to register with them. Unfortunately, the majority of these Chamas are owned by women, seen as the most gullible and easy to dupe.

Efforts by The Weekly Vision to get requisite registration, regulatory and licensing documents from APRT management were futile. APRT has no record of trace at CBK, SASRA or KUSCO leaving one to wonder how Mwiti has been running an illegal entity without government authorities pouncing on him.

APRT runs various bank accounts; all domiciled in Westlands, the operational hub for the former legislator. At Equity, Family and Post Banks, APRT runs account as “APRT Savings & Credit Cooperative Society Ltd (Sacco) while at Cooperative Bank APRT’s accounts is Africa Pooling Resources Together Ltd (a private limited company). APRT Sacco also runs an MPESA till number 666741 which is strictly operated by Mwiti and a trusted member of staff. 

At the Central Police Station Nairobi and Parklands Police station in Westlands, we found dozens of files of complaints against Mwiti by aggrieved investors. However, the politician-cum-business man has managed to silence police officers in the two stations such that no complaint against him can materialize. 

During our course of investigations, we found Mwiti at the poolside of a leading hotel stage-managing TV adverts and commercials with a crowd of hired men and women posing as depositors and beneficiaries of APRT Sacco. The hired crowd was later treated to a sumptuous meal on Mheshimiwa’s bill and later given a handsome out of pocket allowance.  

The stage-managed commercials would later air in the mainstream media with a view to attracting gullible Kenyans to invest and deposit with APRT. Way back in 1990s Mwiti began what was known as the Profession and Business Community Sacco (Pabco) at the Nacico Plaza along Landhis Road next to the populous Machakos bus station in Nairobi. He lured many investors through a financing scheme that was to assist them to own matatus, a business which was by then at its peak. Two years down the line, Pabco closed shop with millions of investors’ money.