Moses Michira
Peter Wangai had a burning desire to make it big in life. He also had the brains to actualise his lofty dreams.
His tale of rags to riches is unbelievable.
Born of a single mother, Wangai braved an impoverished
childhood to emerge a millionaire.
As a thank you gift to his mother, he bought her a car two years ago.
But his wealth has been built on the skeletons of dead ambitions, with
hundreds of investors now grieving for their lost money.
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Many bought his dream from thousands of miles away from home; in the US, UK and the Gulf States.
A few of the investors in Wangai’s make-believe smart farming dream met
at Uhuru Park on Saturday, to plan how to hunt down the man who promised
them heaven, but delivered tears in torrents.
Before Saturday, these aggrieved investors had been in virtual meetings
in a WhatsApp group formed last week, after it became clear that Wangai
had vanished into thin air with their billions.
Many met for the first time, brought together by their shared misery. It
is a story of how gullible investors trusted a man they only knew from
the internet, and bought his idea that one can actually farm on their
phones and computers, quadruple his wealth in three short years - all
without dirtying his hands.
It was believable at first when the early bird investors got the
initially promised instalments of returns, many reinvesting the same
profits. At the end of the day, Wangai was the only winner.
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It
was a deal too good to turn down, especially with the prospect of
infinitely growing wealth from a seed capital of Sh380,000 – a
relatively small amount.
In just seven months - one month for construction of a greenhouse, and
the other six for crops to mature - an investor would earn Sh275,000.
In a year, the return is a whopping 145 per cent. Such returns are only
possible in Ponzi type schemes which always end in tears.
Phone off
Wangai is nowhere to be found now after shutting three of his four company offices and switching off his phones.
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He
has blocked all other platforms that people can reach him through,
leaving many investors desolate and without a solution on how they will
recover their money.
Their pain is accentuated by tales of how Wangai loved the good life, guarded by ex-presidential guards.
In one lengthy post, Wangai wrote: “I came to realise as you rise up the
ladder, being visible, not everyone is happy with milestones you are
achieving and thus your security comes in.”
In yet another, he is seen posing with an Arab man with connections to the royalties in Dubai.
But his success has come with a heavy financial cost and tears for thousands of his supposed victims.
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