• The demolition had been ordered by a lower court, with two factions in the society engaged in legal battles to control the investment valued at more than Sh1 billion.
• Later police rushed to the site of the building after they were served with a High Court order to stop the demolition.
Image: BY MATHEWS NDANYI
Police have stopped demolition of a major commercial building in Eldoret.
The building is at the centre of a row that has split more than 2,000 members of Keiyo House Cooperative Society, which owns the investment.
Hundreds of business operators housed at Keiyo House Cooperative Society building were relieved after the High Court halted the demolition of the building.
The demolition had been ordered by a lower court, with two factions in the society engaged in legal battles to control the investment valued at more than Sh1 billion.
Earlier, tension and anxiety had gripped the traders who operated their business in the building when they were served with a court order directing them to vacate so that the demolition can proceed.
However, Eldoret West police boss Edward Masibo, who was accompanied by Turbo deputy county commissioner Mohammed Mwabudzo rushed to the site of the building after they were served with a High Court order to stop the demolition.
Masibo said they acted on the court order to stop the demolition.
Masibo and his team had earlier visited the same building to effect the demolition order.
“We were here earlier to ask the traders to allow the demolition order to be effected but shortly after, we got another order to stop the process until a case filed by a rival group is heard and determined,” he said.
The 50-year-old building has been has been at the centre of a prolonged row that has slit the leadership and members of the society who are mostly from Keiyo South in Elgeyo Marakwet county.
Trouble started when some shareholders and officials allegedly struck a Sh130 million deal with a private developer to pull down the building and construct a mall, which they will operate for 15 years.
A section of shareholders rejected the plan saying they had not been involved.
Several attempts by the investor to demolish the building have been met with resistance from angry shareholders.
The opposing group led by Joseph Kogai said the deal with the private developer was illegal and unacceptable because it had not been approved by all shareholders.
“We were surprised by the plan to take over the building without approval by all shareholders,” he said.
Another shareholder Elizabeth Jepkemoi said they will resist the takeover bid at all costs because they had never engaged in any business to lease the property.
However Titus Korir, who is recognised by some of the shareholders as their chairman, said the plan to engage the developer had been approved by shareholders.
According to Korir, the investor is to recoup the money invested in the construction of the mall for a period of 15 years through renting business spaces before handing the building back to society.
Korir told the disgruntled members they will receive Sh237,867 million by the end of the lease period.
He said before the deal was sealed, he met with delegates from three zones, namely Kaptarakwa, Chepkorio and Metkei who had received mandate from members to go ahead with the lease plans with the investor who had already paid a deposit of Sh8.5 million to the society’s bank account.