• Complainant says what the government is doing in affordable housing is similar to his concept
• After the rollout of the affordable housing, he claims he is unable to sell or commercialise his innovation
Image: PATRICK VIDIJA
A man has sued the government for allegedly stealing his idea on affordable housing.
David Bor wants the court to stop the rollout of the National Housing Development Fund to avert the violation of his intellectual property rights.
Bor says through lawyer Nicholas Ngumbi that he has not been compensated yet the state wants to use his mortgage concept formula despite it being registered as copyright. He registered the Multi-Concept Cluster (Muccles) in 2007.
On December 18, last year, the government gazetted regulations to implement the National Housing Development Fund. Because of this, Bor says he is now unable to sell or commercialise his innovation.
“The state did not compensate the petitioner before acquiring his Muccles concept formula innovation. As such, the state has violated his constitutional right by compulsorily acquiring his intellectual property without prompt payment in full,” the suit papers read.
He believes the state is going to generate enormous income using his innovation and it is unjust not to compensate him.
Sometime in 1992, Bor became a member of an NGO called Shelter Forum, which brought together like-minded organisations with a passion and vision for human settlement and urban development.
He participated in policy making decisions with a focus on the creation of better and affordable housing.
Between 1994 and 1998, Bor did extensive research and study of the state of home ownership among the middle class and low-income earners in Kenya.
He then came up with the Muccles concept. Muccles is an amalgamation of several conventional business concepts. The complainant copyrighted it.
Since 2009, he made several attempts to market the concept to several institutions among them the National Treasury, Housing ministry and banks.
He now says despite the failed attempts, he sees what government has adopted in affordable housing scheme is strikingly similar to his concept even though he hasn’t been compensated.
The case has been certified as urgent by Justice Weldon Korir and the state directed to file a reply.
It is due for hearing on June 20.
Edited by R.Wamochie