A court has stopped Kiambu Coffee Growers Cooperative Union from evicting former Kikuyu MP Kabibi Kinyanjui from its land that he leased seven years ago to put up a Sh267 million mall in Kabete known as Jessie Arcade.
In the injunction order issued by justice Lucy Gacheru, the Environment and Land Court in Thika also stopped the union or its agents from demolishing, interfering or intermeddling with Mr Kinyanjui’s ‘peaceful enjoyment of the land.
A court has stopped Kiambu Coffee Growers Cooperative Union from evicting former Kikuyu MP Kabibi Kinyanjui from its land that he leased seven years ago to put up a Sh267 million mall in Kabete known as Jessie Arcade.
In the injunction order issued by justice Lucy Gacheru, the Environment and Land Court in Thika also stopped the union or its agents from demolishing, interfering or intermeddling with Mr Kinyanjui’s ‘peaceful enjoyment of the land.
The judge issued the order after Mr Kinyanjui through his son James Njoroge filed a case claiming that the union had declined to vary the lease agreement to enable him to obtain construction funds from financial lenders.
Mr Kinyanjui hired a quantity surveyor who estimated the cost of construction to be Sh267.2 million.
Court papers indicate that in November 2013, Mr Kinyanjui and the union entered into a lease agreement for 20 years with effect from January 1, 2014, to January 1, 2034.
The parties intention in entering the agreement was for the construction of Jessie Arcade.
Mr Kinyanjui commenced the construction of the arcade but it stalled in December 2014 after spending Sh74.5 million.
Having exhausted his finances on the project and the understanding with the union that he would obtain financing from a financial institution, he proceeded to seek funding from Jamii Bora Bank and Kenya Women Micro Finance Bank
The banks informed him that he needed to substitute his name with that of a company due to his advanced age for them to provide funding.
He was also told to seek an extension of the term of the lease for a further 20 years as well as the construction completion date due to a six-month delay in obtaining the necessary consents such as the change of user of the land.
He was able to substitute his name to that of Majoreni Development Company as a director and majority shareholder. He sought the union to vary the lease to obtain funding but it refused
