- Fourways Junction is strategically located some 500 metres from the leafy Runda estate in south west Nairobi and overlooks the Northern Bypass.
- The holds a mix of cluster houses, apartments, office blocks, a shopping mall, a three-star hotel,and a fully-fledged country club.
Image: FILE
The Gatabaki family risks being sent to jail after defying an agreement it entered into with Equity Bank for the control of the multibillion-shilling Fourways Junction estate.
Milimani commercial court judge David Majanja found Nancy Wanja Gatabaki and her daughter, Josephine Beatrice Gathoni, "guilty of contempt of court by wilfully disobeying and impeding the implementation of Consent Orders dated 21 December 2021."
Nancy is the wife of Dr Samuel Gatabaki (deceased).
As an administrator of the estate, she and her daughter challenged an arrangement between Suraya Ltd, Muga Developers Ltd and Equity Bank, which saw some parcels of land charged to the lender, to finance the construction of the estate.
But the matter was subsequently settled after parties signed the December 21 consent. The consent provided that the Gatabakis purchase 18 housing units for Sh172 million.
The money was to be paid to Equity Bank. A deposit of Sh60 million was to be paid on or before December 31, 2021.
The consent also provided that the Gatabakis withdraw all claims they have against the bank relating to the bank's charge over the property where the Fourways Junction estate has been developed.
They were also to cease and desist from restricting access to the portions of the land that are not owned by them .
But they reneged on the agreement and the bank subsequently filed an application to have them cited for contempt.
The bank said the Gatabakis defied the consent by restricting access to some of the plots, which are charged to the bank, thus frustrating the conduct of the survey.
They sought to have them imprisoned for six months, among other orders.
The Gatabakis, at the same time, denied disobeying the consent, saying they only learned of it when the bank came to the suit property to start the survey.
They told the court that they have demonstrated good faith in complying with the consent by depositing Sh205,000,000 worth of settlement and are desirous of putting the matter to rest . They accused the bank of mischief.
But Justice Majanja dismissed them, saying they cannot feign knowledge of the consent as they have complied with and benefited from it.
“The plaintiffs also do not dispute that they actually denied the bank access to enable it conduct a survey on the plots. I find that the plaintiffs, even after knowledge of the consent, blatantly went about disobeying the same,” he said.
He, however, adjourned their sentencing to a date to be fixed to enable Equity Bank complete the survey and implement the consent order. The family will, therefore, be sentenced once the survey is completed.
In the meantime, Majanja issued some orders that will facilitate the implementation of the consent.
He stopped the Gatabakis from interfering with the survey of some of the properties at Fourways and directed the Nairobi county OCPD Kasarani, or any other OCS, to assist Muniu Thoithi and George Weru, to undertake a survey of the property.
Muniu and Weru are the receivers of Muga Developers Limited, which was placed under receivership in 2020 by Equity Bank.
The judge further ordered the said officers to assist Muniu and Weru, to take possession of some units at Daisy and Hibiscus that are under the control of the family and still charged to the bank.
The houses at Fourways were constructed by China Wu-Yi and financed by Equity for more than Sh1 billion.
Fourways Junction is strategically located some 500 metres from the leafy Runda estate in south west Nairobi and overlooks the Northern Bypass.
The holds a mix of cluster houses, apartments, office blocks, a shopping mall, a three-star hotel,and a fully-fledged country club.