Mr Kibe warned the four women not to buy a posho mill with their eyes.
“A machine can look strong while the shaft is already dying.”
The chama had saved enough to consider buying a share in a small mill near the market.
The owner, Gathogo, called the machine new.
Mr Kibe laughed.
“New from which year?”
Inspection revealed a worn belt, noisy bearing, illegal electrical connection, and a rewound motor.
Gathogo insisted it still worked.
“A vehicle also moves with bad brakes,” Mr Kibe said.
The women requested production records, customer lists, debts, rent terms, downtime, and electricity arrears.
The records were incomplete.
Gathogo wanted them as silent investors while he controlled operations.
“A silent investor gives money and hears stories later,” Nyambura said.
They valued the equipment after repair, location, customer base, old debt, and management risk.
Their written offer required:
Recorded share ownership.
Daily cash books.
Two signatures for larger withdrawals.
Access to meter and customer records.
Gathogo’s old debts remaining his.
Repair duties divided.
No collateral without all owners.
A future option to purchase more shares.
“You market women have become lawyers,” Gathogo complained.
“Market men trained us,” Akinyi replied.
They purchased thirty-five percent at a reduced price.
The chama owned the share, not Nyambura individually.
Mr Kibe repaired the machine with parts and labour listed separately.
The first month revealed a KSh 70 cash shortage.
Gathogo claimed a customer would pay later.
“What name?”
Nyambura asked.
“I know him.”
“The book does not.”
Gathogo repaid the shortage and began recording credit.
Then the new bearing failed.
Gathogo blamed Mr Kibe. Mr Kibe blamed overloading.
The women commissioned an independent inspection. It found both a small alignment error and operator misuse.
The repair cost was divided according to the contract.
Customers whose grain had not been milled received refunds or written storage receipts.
The group added a load limit, operator log, preventive-maintenance dates, and a protected repair reserve.
“Rules kill freedom,” Gathogo said.
“Your freedom broke the bearing,” Halima answered.
The first dividend was small. Half remained in repair reserves. A portion supported training. The rest was divided.
Daniel came to inspect the machine.
“Did you buy it?”
“The chama bought a share.”
“In your name?”
“In the names of the group trustees.”
“Maybe the family can invest.”
“Submit a written proposal.”
“You answer everything with paper.”
“The machine does not know you are my husband.”
Samuel later visited and asked whether Nyambura’s share could be considered a Mwangi household asset.
“There is no personal share for you to take,” she told him.
After he left, Mr Kibe advised the women to preserve signature samples and review the collateral clause.
They stored originals in two places.
Nyambura did not know exactly what Samuel would try.
She knew his pattern.
He arrived when an asset began producing cash, never when the shaft was broken.