Auctioneers raid Posta over Sh20m trader's debt

Auctioneers have attached property and office equipment of the Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK) popularly known as Posta for failing to pay a businessman over Sh20.3 million for breach of contract.

Mbusera Auctioneers descended on the corporation’s property at the General Post Office in Nairobi and laid claim to property ranging from office equipment to motor vehicles.

The auctioneer, R W Mbuthia has attached 700 office chairs valued over Sh550,000, 500 computers (Sh500,000), a motor vehicle (Sh700,000) and other assorted equipment.

The warrant of attachment was received under protest by the Post Master General on October 29.

A deputy registrar at the commercial division of the High Court directed the auctioneers to return the warrant executed by December 4.

The businessman Gerald Kamondo Njuki trading as Geka General Supplies had been leased a parcel of land by the corporation in Thika for five year.

Through lawyer Titus Koceyo, he sued the Posta for breach of contract and sought to be paid Sh205 million. The amount was, however, slashed to Sh20 million.

High Court judge Rachel Ng’etich ruled in favour of Mr Njuki after finding that Posta breached contract by subletting the same parcel of land it had leased to the businessman.

Mr Njuki was trading as Geka General Supplies.

“This court finds that lawyer Titus Koceyo has established there was breach of contract as Geka General Supplies never entered into a two-acre plot leased to it three years ago by PCK,” justice Ng’etich ruled.

The award to Mr Njuki will attract interest at court rates.

Posta was also directed to pay costs of the litigation.

Geka General Supplies had applied for a plot from Posta to develop it by building stalls and a garage at a monthly rent of Sh1,846,200 for a period of five years and six months.

The premises were never availed to it as per the lease agreement and after several demands from Mr Njuki, Posta then charged him with the responsibility of removing the existing tenants.

The judge said Geka was expecting a monthly income of Sh3,360,000 from renting out the stalls and leasing the garage to car mechanics.

However, Posta has filed an appeal to challenge the award saying the trial judge erred in awarding the businessman the money before it established the authenticity of the letter of offer and execution of the same.

Posta says it receives funding from the government and it should be given time to source for the same to pay the claimant.

But now that the property has been attached they can be sold anytime.