Lawyer Peter Munge (right) serves a court order to Jacaranda Hotel staff barring repairs at Pizza Garden in May. PHOTO | FILE
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Justice Alfred Mabeya ruled Thursday that the managers can renovate the pizzeria, but maintained the order stopping them from selling, transferring or charging any property under the Njenga Karume Trust.
The High Court has allowed managers of a trust set up by the late billionaire businessman Njenga Karume to refurbish Pizza Garden, a restaurant located in Nairobi’s Westlands, amid a protracted court battle between them and children of the tycoon.
Justice Alfred Mabeya ruled Thursday that the managers can renovate the pizzeria, but maintained the order stopping them from selling, transferring or charging any property under the Njenga Karume Trust.
Three of Mr Karume’s children — Albert, Lucy and Samuel — filed a court application in March claiming the trustees were plotting to sell the pizzeria.
Mr Justice Mabeya stopped the trustees from interfering with the pizzeria in anyway, but Thursday modified the order.
The trustees had asked the judge to dismiss the case because a similar suit was ongoing in the High Court’s Family Division. But Mr Justice Mabeya ruled that the battle in the family court involves property in Mr Karume’s estate, while the civil matter before him is over property under the trust.
“To discharge the entire order of March 27 will be unfair and unjust. The order barring the trustees from dealing with Pizza Garden is discharged immediately but the order barring them from selling, transferring, mortgaging or charging the property is to remain in force until the hearing and determination of the suit,” Mr Justice Mabeya ruled.
The court has, however, temporarily stopped the trustees from implementing its ruling for 14 days to allow Mr Karume’s children to file a new application.
Albert, Lucy and Samuel want the trustees stopped from dealing with the property in any way, including refurbishment.
The three Karume children want Kung’u Gatabaki, George Ngugi, Henry Waireri and Margaret Nduta removed as managers of their father’s multibillion-shilling trust.
They have filed suits against the trustees in the family and civil courts.
The trustees, however, say that the ouster bid is a ploy by the Karume kin to forcibly take over their father’s property.
Ms Nduta — the late tycoon’s sister and one of the trustees — says that the children were informed of the plan to renovate Pizza Garden, a popular restaurant in Nairobi’s Westlands suburb, that is part of the estate.
An audit on his business empire done shortly after Mr Karume’s death shows that his nine companies only posted a Sh5 million net profit for the period between 2008 and 2012.
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