Former Kenyan politician Paul Debecko Gogo is accusing SPLA-IO leader Riek Machar of forcefully occupying his eight-bedroom house along Jacaranda Avenue, off Gitanga Road, in Lavington, Nairobi.
Gogo, once an ardent Kanu supporter, has unsuccessfully tried to evict Machar’s wife and close relatives for defaulting on rent amounting to Sh3.5 million (SSP 2.8 millions) and reneging on a deal to buy the house.
According to the landlord, he was entitled to Sh600,000 per month in rent and denies ever receiving payment as alleged by one of Machar’s point men identified as Isaac Khamis Idris.
“Riek is a liar. He has been giving me false promises while living for free in my house. They are illegally occupying my house after pocketing the police, media and courts. Don’t ever talk to me again because I am very bitter. My lawyer has everything,” Gogo told the media.
Recce Company GSU officers guarding the house have further complicated matters as they once stopped auctioneers from carrying out their duties.
Said Mohammed, another aide to the rebel leader, said as much as Gogo had a right over his property, the matter could not be settled because of the politically volatile situation in South Sudan.
He pleaded to be given time to trace Machar who moved into the house on June 4, after both parties entered into a lease agreement that Gogo disowned.
The agreement was signed in the presence of a lawyer on behalf of the landlord.
Riek Machar while speaking to BBC last month says he is “broke” and struggling to pay rent for the house where his family lives in Kenya.