Cunning customer abuses trader's trust

Nakuru; Kenya: Kuria is a renown trader who deals in fresh agricultural produce. He sources most of his merchandise from Dondori in Milangine District, Nyandarua County and sells in Wakulima Market in Nakuru town.

At times, he delivers his produce to homesteads and traders along the busy Lanet-Dondori route. These traders repackage the produce and sell it in smaller quantities or convert it into fast selling food like chips.

Last month, he was pedalling his rickety bicycle laden with an oversized sack of potatoes from Dondori when a female trader along the route waved him down.

He would have dismissed her and continued towards Nakuru, seeing no point in stopping to sell her a tin of potatoes when selling the whole sack offered good returns. But seeing that the trader was one of his trusted customers, he instantly applied the brakes.

Deal gone bad

He had over time built a good rapport with this vegetable vendor. She took his produce on credit and repaid him promptly.

This time round, she took all his potatoes and asked for more. He duly supplied her with produce worth Sh6,000. She asked him to check the next day for his money.

The next day she was nowhere to be seen. When Kuria asked another trader whose stall was next to his customer’s, he was told a well crafted lie; that she had gone to town and would return later. A dejected Kuria left, promising to check for her the next day.

She dodged him again until Kuria cunningly caught up with her at her stall and demanded for his money.

She denied owing him any money. The two had a lengthy exchange, which drew a curious crowd.

Knowing that Kuria suffers from eye problems, which reduced his vision to a few hundred metres, the Mama Mboga thought her tale of the ‘myopic’ trader who never saw the money she had ‘given’ him would sell to her listeners.

But an infuriated Kuria stormed the office of the area chief and reported the matter.

Rude woman

Mama Mboga admitted to the administrator that she indeed owed Kuria money. She gave the excuse of a bad performing business and claimed she was ready to pay him in installments.

The chief directed that she pay Kuria Sh1,500 per week and conclude the payment within a month.

The first week, Kuria was paid Sh700. The excuse given was that her business was not picking up.

The next week he got Sh300 followed by Sh200 and Sh150 in consecutive weeks.

An angry Kuria reported the delay to the chief.

The woman said she was paying him based on her business performance.

Tired of the case, the chief told the pair to resolve the issue without him.

A smiling Mama Mboga refused to pay any extra coin to Kuria.

His visits to her stall are always angrily dismissed with: “There is no money, what do you expect me to do? Come another day.”

Kuria has given up on ever getting the money back but he is now more distrustful of traders.