Court issues arrest warrant against Salasya over Sh500,000 debt

Mumias East MP Peter Salasya making a call in front of his vehicle that has become a target of auctioneers. [Benjamin Sakwa, Standard]

The Kakamega Small Claims Court (SCC) has issued an arrest warrant against Mumias East MP Peter Kalerwa Salasya over failure to repay a debt.

Judge Carolyne Cheriuiyot has directed the Officer Commanding Kakamega Central Police Station to arrest Salasya and present him before the court.

The arrest warrant issued on Wednesday afternoon states that the MP must appear in court "to explain why he should not be committed to civil jail."

The court's decision follows a petition by Kakamega businessman Robert Lutta, who sought Salasya's imprisonment for not repaying a loan of Sh500,000 plus interest extended to him two years ago.

The MP's lawyer, offered to begin repaying the debt immediately starting with Sh80,000 but Lutta rejected the proposal, saying that it was an affront to the court process.

The businessman's lawyer, Edwin Wafula, asked the court to issue an arrest warrant against Salasya after an attempt to auction his Toyota Land Cruiser was blocked by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula, who argued that the vehicle was co-owned by the National Assembly.

Lutta also noted that attaching the MP's salary was unfeasible, as he had declared a net pay of only Sh3,222 per month. Consequently, the businessman called for Salasya's arrest and detention until the debt was repaid.

On November 27, 2023, the court ordered Salasya to pay Lutta Sh500,000 plus interest, dismissing his counterclaim as inconsistent and unconvincing.

The court said that Salasya's counterclaim was contradictory after he initially claimed to have loaned Lutta Sh1 million but later asserted that the loan was extended through a proxy, Bernard Kemba, who failed to recognise the businessman during an identification parade.

The court acknowledged the businessman's evidence of a bank transfer proving the Sh500,000 loan to Salasya, which he has refused to repay.

The MP failed to provide substantive proof of his alleged loan of Sh1 million to Lutta.

Lutta filed the lawsuit against Salasya on October 23, 2023, asserting that he requested the loan on December 13, 2022, with a promise to repay within two months. Despite reminders, the MP has not repaid the loan.