Kenyan-American developer Josephat Musyoka Mua who has refused to pay local suppliers and workers at his Malili sites
By Joseph Kariuki
Construction workers, suppliers, and brokers in Malili Ward, Machakos County have called on authorities to intervene in a case where a Kenyan-American developer by name Josephat Musyoka Mua, who resides in the USA, secured their services and assorted materials and later failed to pay their dues.
According to the claimants, Musyoka arrived into the country on March 12, 2024, only to be arrested for failing to pay the debts running into millions of Kenya shillings owed to his workers, suppliers, and brokers for the construction of several properties he owns in the area.
He was apprehended by Malili Police on March 14, 2024, and detained before being released the following day after providing a police statement.
However, his debtors claim that he been playing a cat-and-mouse game with the owed individuals, ensuring they never crossed paths with him during his visits to the country.
Upon his arrival, word spread that he had returned to the country, and the vigilant Malili police, well aware of the ongoing situation, set a trap. As soon as he arrived to tour his properties, they tracked and arrested him. The altercation ensued when he resisted arrest, breaking one policeman’s hand. Other officers rushed to their colleague’s aid, forcibly subduing the man by giving him several slaps.
They claim that the man is in a clandestine relationship with a police woman based in Machakos named Dorine but the cop could do nothing to salvage the situation.
Allegedly, he negotiated his way out of the police cells by paying a substantial sum at the station to avoid facing court proceedings.
Rumors abound that Musyoka has been strutting around Malili, speaking American English, boasting of his wealth and intimidating the locals.
The suppliers of sand, building stones, and other farm materials, whom he owed, reported him to the Malili area chief and the local police station. It is whispered that he has resided in America for over 30 years, and the properties he flaunts are disputed family assets that he allegedly wrested from his own kin after the death of his parents.