A businessman was Wednesday charged in a Nairobi Court after he stayed in an Airbnb in Nairobi West and stacked up a bill of Sh81,000 which he refused to pay by claiming that he was waiting for his cheque to mature.
James Callaghen Ochieng alias Kiki was charged that between December 26, 2022, and January 23 this year in Nairobi West, with intent to defraud, he obtained accommodation services amounting to Sh81,000 from Julieta Kawanga by falsely pretending that he would pay for the said service a fact he knew to be false.
According to a police report on December 13 last year, Ochieng checked into the Apartment where his friend paid for the first three days.
However, on December 16 he allegedly told the agent, Kawanga that he would extend his stay there and that he would pay for himself via Mpesa for the remaining period.
However, according to the report the police claimed that he only paid up to December 25 which was on Christmas day.
According to the agreement he was to pay Sh3000 for every day that he spent there.
On December 26, 2022, he informed the agent that he was waiting for his cheque to mature on January 21, 2023, and that he would pay when the cheque “matured”.
The agent told police that she was surprised by the claim since cheques take only three days to mature.
Every time she would ask for the payment Ochieng would give false promises yet the managers of Airbnb would see him leave for work every day.
It was only on January 22 this year, that a cleaner noticed that Ochieng had packed all his clothes ready to leave the Airbnb.
Kawanga decided to keep the key for the room so that Ochieng would not leave without paying up.
On returning from work he was asked about the cheque but he reportedly changed the story.
He did not show any kind of cheque and changed to another story of a client who would pay him any day.
Ochieng was tricked to go to Langata Police Station to solve the matter amicably.
At the station Police claimed that there was no cheque neither did he seem like he was ready to pay up.
It was then that he was arrested and booked to be charged with obtaining services contrary to the penal code.
He pleaded not guilty and was freed on a cash bail of Sh200,000 before Kibera Senior Resident Magistrate William Tulel.
The case will be mentioned on February 7, 2023.
