Dead Chinese woman left me over Sh1.5 billion - 54-year-old mason

 Julius Bett still awaits his inheritance    Photo: Eliud Kipsang

Julius Bett, a 54-year-old mason and casual labourer has been waiting for Sh1.5 billion, an inheritance from a dead Chinese woman he has never met.

As per the documents availed to us, the soft-spoken father of four in Lelmolok area in Uasin Gishu County is supposedly the beneficiary of $15,300,000 that could go a long way in making  his two mud houses standing 200 metres away from the tarmac disappear.

When The Nairobian visited him, his house had a tin lamp atop a table as he shifted through documents stashed in a bag hanging on the wall at the corner of the sitting room.

Bett says he stumbled on the fortune after opening an email account which led to a correspondence with a Chinese woman.  “I received an email upon creating it in February this year from Mrs Zhu. In her correspondence, she sought my full names, address, telephone number and a bank account number which I sent her,” says Bett, a freelance mason around Moi University area for the past 10 years.

After four days, he received another mail from Mrs Zhu requesting for his bank account number with an explanation that he has been appointed to lay claim to the funds deposited by the late Mrs Angela Chen in her offshore account. “I was surprised by the email because I never knew the criteria they used in selecting me for the inheritance and specifically for a woman I never knew nor even met,” he explained.

In the email correspondents seen by The Nairobian, Mrs Zhu informs Bett of the progress of processing legal documents for the claim and insists that the attorney will handle the matter at the Chinese Supreme Court.

Bett whose love for computers grew when he got a job at Moi University stated that upon completion of his duties, he has to log on to his email account to confirm whether there are unread mails.

After seven days Bett received two documents from the same woman including an affidavit of claim from one Barrister Phillip Kwong and an approval of the transfer of the funds through a Chinese.

“This is to inform you that the board of directors has approved the transfer of your inheritance claim of fifteen million three hundred thousand USD as the bona fide beneficiary,” read part of the letter sent on March 2. In the affidavit signed by Kwong, it states that “The late Mrs Angela Chen deposited the cash on 15th December 2005 in her offshore account with China Citic Bank Transfer, as a result of the death, Julius Bett has therefore been appointed to lay claim of the said funds as her next of kin,” in a document dated 19th February.

For Bett, the delay in accessing the funds in his bank account has made him restless because he believes the transaction should have been processed by now.

“I am still waiting for the funds and each day after work, it has become a norm that I check my bank account. It is unfortunate that no transaction has been made since February,” he laments.

The correspondence stopped after he was sent the documents. Each time he sends emails to Mrs Zhu, he does not get a reply.

Julius Bett had planned to use the inheritance to erect rental houses and “I deserve to get my treasure as outlined in the documents sent to me. I fail to understand why the money has not yet reflected in the bank as it should be. The money will change my life for the better,” he said.