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By William Maema,

The acquisition of the land for the development of the Marian Shrine Spirituality Centre (MSSC) taught us valuable lessons about Marian spirituality in general and placing total reliance on Mother Mary’s intercession especially when besieged by inexplicable challenges.

The one lesson that stands out above all others was that Mother Mary is not in the habit of losing battles.

Although I did not know it when I first uttered the phrase, in hindsight, I realise that it is in fact rooted in that most powerful prayer of all time, the Memorare-

“Never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto you….”

The many unforeseen twists and turns which characterised the land purchase transaction convinced us that the Evil One was clearly unhappy with the development of the MSSC. He was resolutely opposed to the project and determined to frustrate and make it unattainable at all costs.

When the idea of purchasing the plot came up, the first thing that Fr. Simon Asira (Provincial) asked the Committee members to do was to pray and ask for the intercession of Our Blessed Mother for the successful fulfilment of the dream which, at the time, appeared to be just that- a dream-by people who were not asleep. He assured us that if Mother Mary wanted the plot for the expansion of her work in the Parish, she would provide both the way and the means necessary. We agreed with him only as an act of faith.

So, when challenges started emerging from every corner almost from the very beginning, it was not difficult to sense that we were in the midst of a very fierce spiritual warfare between the Devil and Mother Mary. We all felt besieged and our hope started diminishing quite fast.

Perhaps the only person who remained calm and composed throughout the process was Fr. Provincial who, like a good army general, kept reassuring us that this was Mother Mary’s project, not ours. He kept reminding us that just as she had helped St. John Bosco to build a large church in Turin when he had absolutely no money, if she wanted a Marian Shrine Spirituality Centre put up in Upperhill she would lend a hand.

One afternoon, Fr. Eric Mairura, the Provincial Economer, called me sounding rather dejected and almost at the point of despair after receiving news that the Salesian partners in Italy who had promised to fund the balance of the purchase price had pulled out due to the devastation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in their country. With nothing else to encourage him with, I instinctively told him not to worry because Mother Mary is not in the habit of losing battles. This phrase appears to have stuck in his mind because he kept repeating it throughout the transaction especially when we faced more challenges.

I highlight a few incidents which arose during the transaction to illustrate the truth of this statement and how Mother Mary showed her hand in the project.

When at the first meeting Fr. Provincial mentioned to us the price which the owner of the plot was asking for based on a recent valuation, everyone gasped and then laughed, not out of joy but disbelief and despair.

Not only was the amount astronomical, but no one in the room believed that the Parish could raise that kind of money within a year, leave alone the 90 days usually given for the completion of land transactions.

Through Our Blessed Mother’s inspiration, however, we decided to not only undertake our own valuation but also conduct an in-depth due diligence on the land to establish its history, exact acreage and whether it had any pending disputes or controversies given its prime location. As it turned out, the in-depth due diligence revealed that the construction of the new dual Matumbato Road had indeed sliced off some portion of the plot which had not been factored in the vendor’s valuation (and price). This discovery, among other factors, including our independent valuation, enabled us to renegotiate the price downwards by no less than Ksh. 55 Million.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 ushered in the next hurdle. The Sale Agreement provided that the balance of the purchase price was payable within 6 months from the date of the Agreement. However, as the date approached, it became apparent that we would not be able to honour this commitment.

Words are insufficient to describe the anxiety displayed on the forlorn faces of the delegation of the entire Salesian fraternity of Don Bosco Upperhill and the Chairman of the Parish Pastoral Council, Mr. Alfred Kandarah, which visited my office at the height of the pandemic to find out if perhaps I had some bright ideas to navigate through this new challenge. As they sat around the table explaining their predicament, I wondered to myself if they had perhaps forgotten that I was a lawyer and not a banker or a miracle worker.

Fr. Provincial candidly shared the disappointing news that indeed there was no money to pay the balance of the purchase price. He explained that although the Salesian partners and their Italian benefactors had promised to fundraise for the balance, following the outbreak of the pandemic and the serious devastation it had caused in Italy and Europe generally, this possibility had suddenly evaporated. In other words, we were on our own.

After swallowing and digesting this bitter pill, it fell on me to explain to the meeting the legal and financial implications of that sad development. I explained as calmly as I could that based on the terms of the Sale Agreement, this situation had suddenly left us staring at the real possibility of losing the land altogether as well as the 10% deposit which we had paid to the vendor. The immediate option, I advised, was to try and seek an extension of time from the vendor as we figured out what to do next. Cornered, the only consoling word the Catholic lawyer could share at that point was that Mother Mary was not in the habit of losing battles. I saw the Economer’s face light up as he made a mental note.

The Vendor’s lawyer, a Catholic and professional acquaintance, surprisingly flatly rejected my request for an extension of time without entertaining any discussion on the matter, simply stating that his client would proceed to cancel the Agreement and retain the deposit of Ksh. 36.5 million which we had paid.

A few days later, Mother Mary intervened. We got an extension for a further 6 months albeit on very onerous financial terms which we grudgingly accepted since we had no choice. Clearly, the vendor had concluded that we could not afford this plot and were merely buying time as we looked for money without being certain if we would get it. They therefore agreed to grant the extension only on condition that we would immediately pay interest on the balance of the purchase price and forfeit if we failed to complete the transaction within the extended period This meant paying Ksh. 6.25 Million upfront which we would lose together with the deposit, if we defaulted in paying the balance of the purchase price.

Mother Mary intervened a third time by literally providing the balance of the purchase price through a loan from a German Bank against a guarantee provided by the office of the Salesians’ Rector Major.

We celebrated an early morning Mass to thank Our Lady for this miraculous breakthrough.

In most battles, the last skirmish is usually the bloodiest. We had all along assumed that since the Salesians were tax exempt, the transaction would not attract any stamp duty which is normally calculated at the rate of 4% based on Government’s valuation of the property.

To our utter shock, however, the Land Registrar insisted that stamp duty was payable because apparently the tax exemption enjoyed by the Salesians did not include stamp duty. To make matters worse, the Government Valuer had valued the property at Ksh .550 Million which was Ksh. 185 Million more than the agreed purchase price stated in the Sale Agreement. The taxman was therefore demanding payment of Ksh. 22 Million in stamp duty within 30 days of the valuation failing which it would start to attract interest.

We all knew that this was the last arrow in the Devil’s quiver and if we managed to dodge it, we would be home and dry. We tried various methods to obtain an exemption but hit a stone wall at every turn. All this time, the completion period under the Sale Agreement was fast approaching and we also faced the risk of starting to pay interest on the assessed stamp duty.

That is when, almost miraculously, an idea occurred to us ‘from the blue’. We would suspend the process of registration until we were ready. In the meantime, we would pay the balance of the purchase price and take possession of the plot even though it would not be registered in our favour until the issue of stamp duty was resolved.

The inherent risk in this proposal was that should any complications subsequently arise in the registration process, we would be exposed since by then the vendor will have received the full purchase price and walked away, leaving us with a bundle of documents and in possession of land which was legally not registered in the Salesians’ name. On balance, however, and with doubtful nodding of heads around the table, the Committee voted to take the risk.

Mother Mary was not done yet. A few days after this risky decision was made, a parishioner informed Fr. Provincial that the Government had finally agreed to grant the exemption for the full stamp duty of Ksh. 22 Million!

That is how Mother Mary, Help of Christians, purchased for herself the land on which MSSC will one day stand. She proved, time and time again, that she is not in the habit of losing battles no matter who happens to be on the other side.

End