Politician falls prey to white man’s trick

By NIKKO TANUI

Politicians are known to be crafty and hardly fall prey to tricksters. However, a politician from Kericho County allegedly lost Sh21 million to a European working in cahoots with two local conmen.

In a well executed plan, the white man first approached the politician who owns several godowns in the county to rent to him one for three months. The man required the facility to store goods for his alleged business.

According to a resident privy to the deal, the excited old man accepted to hand over a godown  located in a local trading centre for Sh25,000 per month.

After striking the deal, the prospective cereal dealer and the tenant are said to have driven to inspect the godown.

When the duo arrived at the scene, an old man and his ‘grandson’ showed up with an ancient cooking stove allegedly made of precious metal. The old man asked the white man to fulfill his part of the bargain for the precious stove allegedly used during World War II lest he would sell it to another buyer.

“The old man caused a commotion calculated to attract the attention of the politician and it worked,” said the source.

The politician inquired from the white man what the fuss was all about and the crafty European told him that the bothersome old man was after him for Sh21 million he had agreed to pay for the ‘precious’ stove.

“I could have sent the money to the old man but he doesn’t have an account,” the white man said.

On further probing, the politician was informed that the stove  could fetch a handsome profit from blacksmiths in the European market.

In his mind the politician saw an opportunity to reap unmeasurable profit, quickly proposing a partnership with the white man and told him that he could step in and save the day.

The ‘relieved’ white man agreed to share profits that would accrue once the stove was melted on a 50/50 basis. The politician dashed to his bankers in Kericho town and withdrew Sh21 million from his two accounts.

However, two days later the old man realised that he had been taken for the most expensive ride of his life.

“On the first day after the deal, the politician communicated without a hitch to the white man using a number he had provided but on the second day, the white man became mteja,” the source added.

Efforts by police to trace the tricksters bore no fruit and the old man was left holding a stove of no real monetary value. Hence the adage: “When the deal is too good...”