Barclays Bank denies role in selling Karen land to city tycoon

Barclays Bank has denied any involvement in the alleged illicit transfer of a 134-acre piece of land in Karen. The lender, in its court documents, claimed it never had any contract with John Mugo, but instead it oversaw the transfer of the 134-acre land from the original owner Arnold Bradley to Horatius Da Gama Rose.

Barclays Director of legal services Waweru Mathenge in his testimony before High Court Judge Lucy Nyambura said the lender had also held the title of the land as a charge of a loan taken by Mr Rose between 1983 and 1989 when it released a certificate of discharge after he completed servicing it.

The property was charged on August 30, 1983 and a certificate of discharge issued on March 7, 1989 to enable the release of the title deed. "The interested party has confirmed that the process of transferring the property was completed in 1983. This is the same year that the plaintiff (Muchanga Investment) acquired the title," Mr Mathenge swore. Barclays held that it was the executor of Mr Bradley's will and that it was legally transferred to Mr Rose.

Telesource.com had told the court that it acquired the land from Mr Kamau who had in turn purchased it from Mr Bradley on August 24, 1978. Mr Bradley died on October 22, 1973.

Mr Mathenge told the court that the transfer between Bradley and Kamau was fraudulent and as such the company owned by former NSSF Managing Trustee Jos Konzolo could not place a claim after Mr Kamau.

"The alleged transfer of the suit property from Arnold Bradley to John Mugo Kamau which is exhibited in the affidavit of the third respondent is clearly fraudulent as it purported to have been executed on August 23, 1978 which is after Bradley died on October 22, 1973 and a grant for probate issued on July 24 1974," the legal officer testified.

He added that: "Barclays transferred the property to Da Gama Rose Investments as executor of Mr Bradley's estate. By January 31,1983 the executorship had been finalised. There are no records showing that Barclays dealt with the land in regards to Habenga Holdings, Catherine Njeri Ng'ang'a or John Mugo."