The hearing of a lawsuit lodged by Presbyterian cleric   David Ndumo over failure to pay a loan of Sh8.6 million hit a snag  yesterday after the term of Co-operative Tribunal vice-chairman expired.

As a result of lack of proper quorum at the tribunal, the same was postponed to next week.

The case, which had been listed for inter-parties hearing revolves around a loan owed to Sheria Sacco, where Ndumo’s 15 guarantors have been  forced to repay the burden.

 Representing the guarantors, lawyer Wambugu Wanjohi urged Ndumo to take advantage of the window before the tribunal resumes on April 8 and start repaying the debt even if in installments.

“I urge Ndumo to take advantage of this window to pay his guarantors as they are suffering for lending their goodwill to him,” said Wambugu adding that his clients were parents with obligations such as school fees that they are now struggling with because of deductions from their salaries.

The Cooperative Tribunal had earlier in the year granted the guarantors permission to attach Ndumo’s property in a bid to recover the debt.

Through Wright Auctioneers, they attached Ndumos electronics, cars and other home effects in an effort to recover the money.

But in a turn of events, the defaulter moved to the same tribunal and secured an injunction to stay the order of auctioning the property.

In his prayers, Ndumo who has been elected honorary treasurer of the PCEA Church, said he had a right to fair hearing claiming he wasn’t served with the claimants pleadings.

But Wanjohi in a rejoinder demonstrated how the Church elder was served with Tribunal papers and the lawyer has claimed that he is only interested in delaying the repayment of the loan.

In their replying affidavit, the guarantors have told the tribunal that Ndumo by denying ever served the application by the defendant only serves as tactic to delay the realisation of their fruits from the judgment compel him to say the loan without further delay.

The 15 guarantors including Juma Olago, Charles Maina, Jane Njoroge and Benjamin Ombogo want the Tribunal to dismiss the application and allow the auctioneer to sell the seized items.