A Kenyan cabinet minister is being accused of forcing her way into and then occupying an MP’s house in the capital, Nairobi, that she intends to buy.
Labour Cabinet Secretary Florence Bore said she had paid 10% of the $642,000 (£501,000) cost of the house after signing a sale agreement with the MP’s lawyers.
She said the agreement allowed her to occupy the house in the upmarket Karen suburb while she sought a mortgage to pay the rest of the amount in 90 days.
But Edward Muriu, a ruling party MP for Gatanga in neighbouring Kiambu county, said he had signed no such agreement to sell the house that he and his wife own.
He challenged the minister to produce any documents showing proof that they had signed the deal or that she paid the amount she alleges to have paid as deposit.
Mr Muriu accuses the minister of abusing her power by using dozens of police officers to get into the house. The police have not spoken on the issue.
He addressed the media carrying what he said were keys to the house. “How did she get into the house?” he asked, alleging that she had broken into the house.
But in her statement, Ms Bore said the MP had reneged on the deal and attempted to evict her children while she was out of the country, necessitating her to seek police protection.
The MP says he has sought intervention from the president, saying the minister was embarrassing the government and “needs to get out of the house latest by Tuesday this week”.
He says he will then decide whether to pursue a petition in court over the matter