Mumias East Member of Parliament Peter Salaysa has reacted to allegations of failing to service a 2017 loan he took from Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) in Kakamega.
The case was publicised by activist Boniface Mwangi who shared a message he received from Polycarp Nyonje, the man accusing Salaysa of defaulting on the loan and sinking his guarantors into financial doldrums.
According to the lengthy tweet, while working at the aforementioned bank, the MP took a Ksh. 165,000 and immediately defaulted. Nyonje said Salasya constantly dodged phone calls whenever reached out about the matter.
“He immediately defaulted on the loan and each time we spoke in person, or on the phone, he kept on promising that he would repay it. He continued to promise us that he would repay, right up to the time he became a member of parliament,” Nyonje said in a message addressed to Boniface Mwangi.
He went on to lament that, despite reaching out to the National Assembly and the Ombudsman’s office, Salasya has remained adamant, refusing to engage or get back to his guarantors.
“I have tried engaging Salasya on social media platforms but he never responds,” the complainant said.
“Our hard-earned savings were debited to the tune of Ksh40,821. This affected our borrowing power in the Sacco. When I try to reach him nowadays, he doesn’t respond to my calls, or even texts.”
Shortly after the thread went viral, the brash MP recorded a response video in his house saying that having loans is a normal thing given that Kenya itself owes ‘trillions of money’ to lenders.
And in a tone that is undoubtedly Salasya’s, he also blasted his critics whom he called ‘idiots’ adding that he may appear to be stupid but he will surely ‘rule over us’.
While not saying anything substantial in the two-minute video, Salaysa seemed to have a bigger fight with Kenyans on Twitter than the Sacco from which he borrowed money.
“How many people from this twitter voted for me? @bonifacemwangi am asking? Ulianguka kura Starehe juu ulijiona na hizi idiots zinanitusi hapa twitter!” he ranted.
The MP, however, appeared to acknowledge that he did, indeed, borrowed money from the Sacco and asked the lenders to meet him in his office to ‘solve the issue’.
In a follow-up video, the MP doubled down on his attack on Kenyans on Twitter, calling them aloof and elitist.
“Watu wa Twitter mnajifanya sana. Hakuna kitu nitawai fanya kitu watu wa Twitter waka ni comment. Sijakataa niko na loan na nitalipa! Kwani what is 40k? Niko na pesa! Natumia pesa nyingi sana ground kila siku! Sikupata kura kwa Twitter na sitegemei Twitter! Pelekeni ujinga yenyu huko!” he frothed.