A vicious battle for a 16.7 acre piece of land in Runda valued at over Sh3 billion has taken a new twist, with one of its claimants now looking to suspend a court case between Postbank Credit and other individuals staking a claim to the prime property.
Mr David Kimani has asked the High Court to suspend the suit pitting mystery firm Williams & Kennedy against collapsed Postbank Credit and Kiambu Mall owner Peter Burugu, arguing that none of them has any legal claim to the land.
Williams & Kennedy sued Postbank Credit in 2009 for allegedly violating court orders in selling the disputed property to Jumchem Healthcare Ltd.
Mr Burugu owns Jumchem, after purchasing it from Mr Juma Muchemi, who died in December last year.
While Williams & Kennedy’s suit against Postbank Credit was set for a hearing last Wednesday, Mr Kimani now says he is the valid owner of the land and neither Postbank Credit, Williams & Kennedy or Jumchem Healthcare should be fighting over the prime Runda property.
Mr Kimani wants the court to also enjoin him in the suit Williams & Kennedy filed against Postbank Credit.
“I intend to adduce evidence to show that the foundation of these proceedings, being the interest that Williams & Kennedy purportedly charged to Postbank Credit is a nullity and incapable of receiving legal recognition. I am legally interested in these proceedings as neither Williams & Kennedy nor Postbank Credit and Jumchem hold valid title documents over the subject matter in this litigation,” Mr Kimani says in court papers.
Mr Kimani has separately sued Mr Burugu, Jumchem and the Chief Land Registrar seeking to bar them from claiming ownership of the land.
The businessman argues that his case against Mr Burugu, Jumchem and the Chief Land Registrar should take priority in determination, as the result could render all other suits irrelevant should the courts declare him the valid owner.
On Wednesday, Justice Mary Kasango ordered Mr Kimani, Postbank Credit’s receiver manager and Williams & Kennedy to appear before her on December 16 to hear the application.
Mr Francis Ng’ang’a says in court papers that they own Williams & Kennedy, which in turn owns the land. They claim to have bought the land by purchasing all the shares of Williams & Kennedy, which they add bought the land from City Park designer Henry Powell Greensmith.
The Ng’ang’as’ trail of documents indicates that the land was registered as L.R. Number 11914 when it was still owned by Mr Greensmith, before taking on its current L.R. Number 5989.
Postbank Credit claims that Mr Ng’ang’a used Williams & Kennedy and the land to dupe both it and his former employer Rural Urban Credit Finance Ltd into giving him loans that were never repaid.