Former MP gives businesswoman final notice to vacate multi-million city property

A former MP has given a businesswoman a final notice to vacate a multi-million property in Nairobi's Woodley estate.

Grace Wairimu Sorora lost the fight for the property when the Court of Appeal upheld an earlier judgement that former Marakwet West MP David Sudi was the rightful owner of the suit property.

In the notice issued through DM Ambao Advocates, Sudi -- through Chaka Limited -- gave the businesswoman up to last night to vacate the premises.

"We have issued several notices to vacate the premises since the eviction notice was issued on May 18, 2017, and we issue this last notice as a form of courtesy," read the letter addressed to Wairimu.

"Following this, we demand that you vacate the premises by 5pm on May 12, 2018, peacefully as you have had enough time and received enough notices to vacate the premises," the notice read.

The case was first heard by High Court judge Pauline Nyamweya, who held that the documentary evidence produced by Wairimu, the widow of Francis Sorora Oloitiptip, were forged. She ordered Wairimu to leave the property to its rightful owners.

In upholding the judgement, Appelate judges Alnashir Visram, Martha Koome and Jamila Mohamed agreed with Justice Nyamweya.

"The role played by (Nairobi City Council) as a local authority did not help Wairimu’s case because she was merely licensed to carry out business,” ruled in the May 2017 judgement. “In our view, that did not give rise to a claim of ownership of the land".

During the eight-year tussle for the property, Wairimu was arraigned before Kibera Magistrates Court for forgery of land documents.

She was also accused of perjury as she had allegedly lied to the court that she was the legitimate owner of the contested land

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) wrote to City Hall stating that all the documents used by Sorora were forged and that City Hall should not transact any business with her concerning the land.

Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Keriako Tobiko also wrote to the DCI that Ms Sorora be arraigned in court for forging the land documents.

Whereas Sudi bought the one-acre land from the Deposit Protection Fund in 2009, Wairimu and her late husband first claimed to own the land by adverse possession by having lived on it for 12 years.

Sudi said he bought the land in 2009 after a sale advertisement in the local dailies in 2008 after its owner, Kabucho Ltd, failed to pay a Sh4 million loan they had obtained from Pan African Bank in 1983.

“On September 25, 2008, we did a search and found out that the land existed. After all the transactions were made, Wairimu went to court and claimed to own the land,” said Sudi .
However, according to court documents, Wairimu was found to have forged ownership documents and the case of her owning the land by adverse possession was dismissed in 2010.

Sudi claimed that Waiimu became defiant and refused to vacate the land and went back to court to sue that she has all the ownership documents.

Court documents show that her late husband, Oloitiptip, provided an allotment letter issued to him by the defunct City Council of Nairobi on January 22, 1981 yet the title deed to the land was with Kabucho Limited and had been issued to them in 1982.

The court also said that Wairimu’s documents were forged since the allotment letter required that she pays for the survey fee yet a title deed had already been issued to Kabucho Limited.

The Deposit Protection Fund in May 2012 wrote to City Hall clarifying that it had sold the land to Sudi and that Wairimu should vacate the land.

Former City Halls chief legal officer Karisa Iha also wrote to court saying that Wairimu had forged the documents she used to obtain a court injunction to bar Sudi from the land, adding that the documents did not come from City Hall.

The director of Investigations at City Hall Geoffrey Riungu also asked the court to dismiss Wairimu’s documents, saying they are forged.

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