Imanyara moves to court to block sale of Karen house

A former legislator has gone to court protesting an intended auction of his house in the lush Karen estate by a bank after allegedly defaulting on a loan agreement.

Mr Gitobu Imanyara, the former Imenti Central MP told a court Friday that Ecobank has paid auctioneers monies, debited his account and moved with haste to auction the incomplete residence breaking the ties of a pact they entered in in July last year.

He said that despite him demanding severally to know the cost of the housing project, the bank has withheld information and called on auctioneers to dispose-off the property instead.

“I entered into an agreement with the first respondent (Ecobank) to advance me monies for construction of my house. The said advances were to be secured by a charge over the land which I signed and gave the bank to register and furnish me with a duly registered copy,” the former Imenti Central MP said.

He added that he was not furnished with the copy of the said variation of charge and wrote to the bank on May 17, 2014 requesting among other documents the charge copy. No response was given to the said letter.

Mr Imanyara said that the bank and the auctioneers are threatening to auction his property without due regard to the law and the agreement the two parties entered.

He is thus seeking a temporary injunction restraining the bank and the auctioneers either by themselves or their agents from advertising for sale, mortgaging, taking possession or interfering with the suit property pending the hearing and determination of the suit he filed Friday last week.

“There is every likelihood that unless the order of prohibition is issued against the sale of the property, it will be wrongfully sold an act that will cause great loss and damage to the plaintiff,” Mr Imanyara said.

A letter filed in court by the former MP addressed to the bank through its lawyer reads, “we regret to note that, to date you have failed to favour us with the courtesy of reply. Meanwhile, your client appears to be moving forward to sell my property regardless of the issues raised in our previous letter…your client has instructed Valley Auctioneers to proceed and sell the property on July 10 2014.”

The former legislator is therefore seeking the court expediency to stop the purported auction of the property as it is “wrongful and illegal.”