People have done extraordinary things in the name of love. It is however when the love goes sour that the drama erupts, case in point, the fight for Ridgeways Inn-The Yard along Kiambu Road.
It has been an uphill task for Sylvia Wambui Karanja to try and convince the people and the courts that her family does own the inn.
Ms Karanja has been behind bars after her fiance Daniel Kimani Kariuki with the help of his first cousin and a lawyer only identified as a Mr Kimani.
The lawyer, Kahawa Tungu has learnt forged Lawyer Paul Njehia’s stamp and signature appearing on share transfer papers which were allegedly presented by Ms Karanja.
Njehia filed a complaint that landed Ms Karanja in trouble. This occasioned her arrest by Engineer police officers.
Sources have however intimated that Mr Kariuki is solely to blame for Sylvia’s woes. Things between them haven’t always been rosy.
They met in 2015 when her father, Alloys Kuria Karanja handed over the management of the inn over to her. He was in and out of hospital then, sources said.
Mr Karanja had leased the piece of land where the business sits on March 11, 2011 for a period of six years.
Ms Karanja quickly took up the challenge of running the family business, which is when she met and fell in love with Mr Kariuki. He was a regular at the inn but, according to sources who sought anonymity, the only contribution that he made was always hanging around the inn with his laptop in hand.
Kahawa Tungu has also learnt that Mr Kariuki did not make any financial contribution whatsoever. In his suit filed at Milimani Law Courts, he alleged that he, his niece, Ruth Maigua and Ms Karanja opened up a marketing company, Bebadis Limited through which he made monetary contributions.
But those privy to the details have indicated that Bebadis limited was only an idea that did not take off. In its name was a Paybill number which Ms Karanja used once the company died. She used it as a collection paybill instead of registering one in the name of Ridgeways.
When the lease expired, sometime in 2016, Mr Kariuki sought to have Bebadis to co-run the inn and secure the lease but the agents declined.
Ms Karanja then opened another company that successfully secured the lease. But a while later, Mr Kariuki cunningly tricked her into transferring their shares to a third company which did not bear his names.
Later on, the lovebirds decided it was time to take their relationship to the next level. When she took him home to meet the parents, they all had their reservations and after doing some digging, it was found that he used to run a micro-finance firm, Kenya Entrepreneurship Empowerment Foundation that allegedly defrauded a Danish firm MYC4 of nearly Sh100 million in 2011.
In September of this year, he is also said to have walked into the inn in the company of 15 men seeking to take over the ownership of the management.
It is on this very night that he is accused of assaulting The Yard employees and stealing Sh103,000 and a mobile phone worth Sh40,000, all of which belonged to Sylvia.
He was charged in a Makadara court and released on a Sh100,000 bail. The matter will be heard on November 26.
Ms Kariuki has also complained of harassment in the hands of Engineer police who she says are acting on behalf of Mr Kariuki.
In fact, sources say, when she was arrested, the officers arrived in Mr Kariuki’s car with instructions from Engineer DCIO, a Mr Obel.