Amos Khaemba, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.
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Nairobi – National Assembly Speaker Moses Masika Wetangula is now accusing a dog trainer who had sued him over an alleged debt of KSh 281,000 for the sale and training services of two high-breed dogs of extortion and trying to annoy him.
Through Stephen Okumu, to whom Wetangula has granted power of Attorney, the lawmaker filed a response saying that a suit filed at the Small Claims court by Isokat Bethwell is malicious and meant to embarrass him.
Wetang’ula dismissed Bethwel’s claims, maintaining that he does not owe him any money after he supplied him with two trained German Shepherd dogs, dog food, shampoo, and a dog nail cutter, among other supplies, at his Karen home.
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Okumu, instead, says that Bethwell is publicly making fictitious demands to pressure him into paying him a non-existent debt.
“The claimant, in an attempt to extort money from the respondent, has made and publicized frivolous and fictitious demands in an attempt to humiliate and pressurize him to pay nonexistent dues,” the court documents seen by TUKO.co.ke reads in part.
The former Bungoma senator added a further claim of KSh 50,000 by Bethwel for training the dogs is meant to frustrate him and attract bad press against him.He argues that he did not contract him to train the dogs.
“This frivolous claim is intended to malign, vex and annoy me as well as embarrass and attract negative publicity against me,” the court papers read.
He admitted that the dog trainer wrote him a message on WhatsApp on June 26, 2024, demanding KSh 214,000.
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Wetangula said he responded to the message and categorically told him that he did not owe him any money.
Okumu maintained that the purported training costs of the pets, as alleged by Bethwel, are a figment of his imagination.
“The purported training post delivery and owed training costs as alleged by the Claimant are imaginary and are pure falsehoods,” he added.
He said he paid the trainer KSh100,000 as had been agreed.Wetangula insisted that the trainer filed the case to camouflage himself as a victim in a bogus claim.
In his court papers, Bethwell said that he sold the two canines to Wetang’ula in June 2021 at KSh 318,000 but was only paid KSh 100,000.
Since then, the businessman claimed Wetang’ula has been taking him in circles over the remaining balance.
The dog seller further informed the court that when he attempted to request the remaining balance, Wetang’ula allegedly responded rudely and insisted he would not pay.
The trainer added that Wetang’ula’s refusal to settle the debt has caused him significant psychological distress and left him with no choice but to seek judicial intervention.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
