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If he had known one click of the mouse would bring his dream down tumbling, he would have kept his finger off the device.
Brian Nyaberi was browsing on his computer at his office in Kisii when an advert popped up on OLX displaying a car on sale.
Certain that it was time to attain one item one his wish list, Nyaberi clicked on the contact details provided.
He made a call. On the other end of the phone was a man who identified himself as Fred Tonny.
Testifying before Kibera senior principal magistrate Barbara Ojoo on Wednesday, Nyaberi said the man with a sweet tongue made the deal sound even better than the picture of the car on display on the internet.
“The man told me I was in the right place as their company had many nice vehicles which were in good shape and affordable. I settled on a Nissan model and asked him to send me some photos,” he told the court.
After haggling a bit over the price, they agreed on Sh370, 000 down from Sh550, 000.
"So I called my brother who lives in Nairobi to meet the dealers as he was more familiar with vehicles,” Nyaberi testified.
The brother met the dealers and reported to Nyaberi that it was a good deal
He traveled from Kisii to Nairobi to make the purchase. He and the dealers proceeded to Kagundo Road at a car yard to inspect the vehicle.
A mechanic he brought along tested the car and affirmed it was in good condition.
From Kangundo Road he went to meet the dealer’s lawyers at an office in Uchumi House.
“There, we signed an agreement in the company of my brother, Fred Tonny, another dealer identified as Daniel and their lawyer,” he said.
He then decided to pay the first installment of Sh25, 000 and proceeded with Daniel to transfer the money at a KCB branch on Moi Avenue.
He deposited the money in a company account he had been given. Fred Tonny had allegedly gone to pick a sticker from Kenya Revenue Authority offices.
“They told me that the KRA sticker had expired and Tonny volunteered to go and pick it. I gave him Sh1, 000 for a new one,” Nyaberi said.
After about 30 minutes, Tonny called from KRA saying there was a long queue. An hour later, he had not returned.
Nyaberi said they went back to Uchumi House to wait for Tonny after his phone went off.
“Moments later, Daniel left me there at Uchumi House parking yard and went to boost the battery. I had been there for close to an hour when it came to my realisation that I had been conned. They were not coming back,” he said.
Nyaberi went to the lawyer’s office and the lawyer advised him go to the car yard on Kangundo Road.
“I took a motorcycle and went to the car yard but it was locked. I called a phone number which was at the gate but the person who received told me the car had not been sold,” he said.
“I called my brother. I was tired and hopeless then.”
Nyaberi’s brother reported the matter to police, leading to the arrest of Bernard Oduor aka Fred Tonny.
Oduor is accused that on March 13, 2019, in Nairobi, together with others not before court, conspired to defraud Nyaberi of Sh370, 000 by pretending that they were able to sell him a car