Huduma Credit CEO Jimal Roho Safi has taken legal action against NTV, days after the station aired an exposé accusing his company of scamming bodaboda operators out of approximately Sh24 million.
The businessman, through his legal team, served NTV with a cease and desist as well as a demand letter, claiming the station had defamed him through its crime feature.
Taking to his social media pages on Tuesday, October 14, Jimal shared an image of the official demand letter from his lawyers addressed to NTV, accusing the media house of being “used by rich individuals to tarnish his reputation.”
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According to the letter drafted by Muthea Muthuri & Associates Advocates, NTV allegedly infringed upon Jimal’s rights by publishing and airing a defamatory news piece about him and his company.
The demand letter required NTV to pull down the exposé on Jimal and Huduma Credit and issue a public written apology.
Jimal’s legal team also directed the station to cease and desist from airing or publishing any further stories about their client or his firm.
The lawyers further warned that failure to comply within seven days would result in NTV being taken to court for defamation.
“Therefore, we have instructions to DEMAND that you do the following within seven days from the date hereof:
a. Issue a full and unequivocal retraction of the defamatory statements in the same prominence and manner as the original broadcast.
b. Tender a written and public apology to our client, to be approved by our client prior to publication.
c. Cease and desist from further publication or dissemination of similar or related defamatory statements concerning our client.
Take notice that we have firm instructions to institute legal proceedings against you for defamation without further reference. Such proceedings shall include claims for general, aggravated, and exemplary damages, as well as costs of the suit. Be accordingly advised,”
the letter read in part.
The surprising turn of events came barely a week after NTV aired a feature highlighting the plight of numerous bodaboda riders who accused Huduma Credit of scamming them.
The story became a national talking point after the riders stormed the company’s offices on Thursday, October 9, 2025, protesting repeated delays and accusing the firm of misleading them.
One of the clients, Kevin Ongwano, told NTV that he had paid a deposit but was yet to receive his motorbike, describing the situation as “chaotic” and calling for accountability from the company’s leadership.
Through the same feature, Kevin revealed that the company had been operating under a “lipa mdogo mdogo” model that left clients waiting for long periods without delivery.
“I paid Ksh9,500 last month on the 5th, and I feel cheated. I was told the motorbike would be delivered within 24 hours, but since then, it has just been a cycle of promises that never materialised. What we want to say is that this company is now a crime scene. We need to acknowledge this, and the leader must come clean. The company has been using the ‘pay slowly’ tactic,” he said.
Jimal Roho Safi Responds
In a swift rejoinder, Jimal, through the same station acknowledged a backlog of payments and deliveries in Nairobi, explaining that thousands of deposits had been made by customers awaiting delivery of their electric bikes.
The Huduma Credit boss stated that the firm had been expecting a shipment from its manufacturing partner in Syokimau, which had only just arrived.
He added that the company was now focused on clearing the backlog through customs clearance, registration, and production processes, and had already mobilised additional manpower to speed up deliveries.
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“Currently, we have a heavy backlog. In Nairobi alone, there’s a backlog of 2,300 payments where people have deposited Sh9,500 and are waiting for their e-bikes. We were expecting the bikes to be cleared last week because our manufacturing partner in Syokimau was to deliver them, but the consignment only arrived this morning. We still need to complete customs clearance, register the bikes, and finalise production by next Wednesday,” he said.
Jimal also took the opportunity to apologise for the inconvenience caused to clients.
“We aim to clear the Nairobi backlog of around 2,136 bikes by Friday. Additional manpower has been mobilised at the manufacturing facility to speed up deliveries. Huduma Credit is a major microfinance company in Kenya, and we are confident in our operations. We apologise to clients who are unhappy with the delays and the inconvenience caused,” Jimal said.
He emphasised that Huduma Credit operates under a recognised microfinance framework in Kenya and assured that all remaining motorbikes would be delivered to the affected riders in due course.
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