Dubai Bank MD fights civil jail order in row with firm

Dubai Bank has accused a private company of lying to the court when it obtained orders seeking to have two senior personnel of the lender jailed.

The managing director of Dubai bank of Kenya Mr Binay Dutta claims that Kwanza Estates Limited was “too economical with the truth” when it got an order based on which he and the bank’s chairman, Mr Hassan Zubeidi, were to be committed to civil jail.

Mr Dutta and Mr Zubeidi, being representatives of the bank, had been summoned to appear in court following a financial disagreement with the company.

They were required to show cause why they should not be jailed for failing to comply with a court order issued last year by Justice Martin Muya where they were required to deposit Sh197 million in court.

The order, Mr Dutta has stated in court documents, was meant to humiliate him and his officers.

He says that Mr Zubeidi is a non-executive chairman who did not have information on the day-to-day operations of the bank.

In his affidavit filed in court Tuesday, Mr Dutta through his lawyer Stephen Mwenesi noted that the bank had also filed an application seeking to set aside a default judgment together with the order issued.

“It will be best if the two applications are heard together so that we establish if we are guilty of contempt in law and fact. I believe that the chairman, myself and the bank are not guilty and do not deserve to be committed to jail,” he stated.

Mr Dutta who was present in court further stated that the chairman was out of the country for Idd Ul Adha celebrations for which arrangements had been made long before Tuesday when he was also required to be in court.

Mr Mwenesi asked the court to adjourn the matter until next month by which time Mr Zubeidi will have returned from pilgrimage.

Justice Mary Kasango directed that both officials be in court on October 15 when they will be expected to tell the court why they have not complied with the order of Justice Muya.

She also said that the case will proceed by way of oral evidence where Mr Mwenesi will call his witnesses after which they will be cross examined by Mr Paul Nyachoti for Kwanza Estates, the plaintiff.

The company had filed a case seeking to stop the bank from selling its 11 parcels of land in Kilifi valued at Sh890 million.

Consequently, the bank was restrained from selling, accessing, advertising for sale, entering into, transferring or dealing with the applicant’s properties until the case filed against it is heard and determined.