Mercy Tarus the giant killer: Mandango forced to refund 300 million Kshs!

Parents who were conned into paying for their children to study in Finland will be refunded more than Sh300 million.

The refund was agreed to by Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii and Senator Jackson Mandago after a meeting with affected parents and students.

The two leaders said that the money would be refunded because the programme had run into problems and those who paid were no longer interested.

“We have listened and we agree that there is nothing else you need but a refund,” Bii said.

Mandago said he had initiated the programme in good faith but regretted that had he known it would run into problems he would not have started it.

Both Mandago and Bii asked the parents to give them a week to come up with a way forward on the refund.

“Please give us time so that we go and discuss and come up with the way forward on the refunds as you have demanded. We cannot refund immediately as you are demanding because of the complications involved,” said Bii.

Bii and Mandago explained that much of the money owed to the parents had been used to pay for other students already studying in Finland and Canada but had not cleared their fees.

It was not clear where the money to refund the students would be sourced from.

The parents in debt have been asked to pay more than Sh94 million they owe for overseas education programme.

Present at the meeting were Uasin Gishu county commissioner Dr Eddison Nyale and Deputy Governor John Barorot.

Many of the parents and students affected by the programme wept before Governor Bii and Senator Mandago as they narrated their suffering because of the scam.

The two leaders had called the meeting over the scam. Most of the parents and their children could not hold back their tears of pain.

Emotions ran high as some of the parents narrated how they sold their property or used retirement benefits to pay for their children to study in Finland, only to be conned.

“I paid Sh2.5 million for my two children to go to Finland but two years down the line we are all at home rendered poor and suffering from depression,” said one of the parents, Edward Kiptek.

Some of the children who missed out on the programme went personal and wept as they accused some of county leaders of openly lying to them as they suffer.

They narrated how they had been tormented by Uasin Gishu county askaris for being outspoken in demanding for their rights.

“I am ready to die or be killed by the county askaris then you can send your child to come and read the eulogy at my funeral,” said one of the students.

After a four-hour meeting dominated by emotions, Bii and Mandago had few words to say only admitting that the problem was serious and the parents had to be refunded the money they paid.