Mwalimu Sacco to sell Juja land after loss at bank

Mwalimu National Sacco is seeking to sell two pieces of land in Juja, only weeks after it emerged that it had incurred a Sh2 billion loss on purchase of a bank.

Notices placed in the daily newspapers indicated the sacco was disposing off its 8.094 hectare parcel of land and another measuring 6.070 hectare adjacent to one another. It had planned to put up housing units on the land for sale to its shareholders and members of the public.

The two parcels have an estimated total value of Sh350 million, according to a former top executive who gave the information on condition he is not named.

“The parcels are located 54 minutes from Nairobi, 37 minutes from Juja Town ... The parcels are ideal for either commercial or residential use.Sealed bids should be returned to the chief executive by April 18th,” said the notice.

The giant teacher savings and credit co-operative society had mooted the plan to develop the Juja property after successful completion of its Sh2.9 billion development that comprised 871 housing units at Kisaju in Kajiado County, the largest undertakings by a credit union.

Spire Bank

The sacco incurred the loss following its 2015 acquisition of a majority stake in Equatorial Commercial Bank, which has since rebranded into Spire Bank. The teacher-owned sacco invested a total of Sh2.4 billion to take a 75 percent stake in the lender.

Spire Bank has remained in losses, cutting down the worth of Mwalimu’s stake to a mere Sh413.7 million. The organisation’s chief executive Alphonce Kaio did not respond to our queries.

At the same time, listed re-insurer, Kenya Re, which recently issued a profit warning for the full financial year ended December 2018 citing higher claims, forex losses, lower income and impairment of assets. has announced plans to lease 1.6 acre Upper Hill property.

In an advertisement placed in the dailies, Kenya Re said it would allow a lesee to enjoy temporary occupation of the vacant plot for a specified period of time.

This is hardly two months after it “urgently” invited expert advice on the planned development of a multi-storeyed commercial property on the land.

In the planned development termed as “urgent”, the winning built-environment consultant was to undertake feasibility studies and advise the re-insurer on the best investment it could put on it. Kenya Re has also advertised office space in its three commercial buildings in Nairobi and Kisumu.