Landlord to pay tenant sh62 million compensation over illegal eviction

A wooden gavel. [Courtesy]

An appellant court in Mombasa has declined to stop a Sh62 million compensation to a tenant forcefully evicted by his landlord despite an existing lease agreement.

The High Court ordered a developer, Frann Investment Limited, to pay James Wambui damages after evicting him from the premises where he was running a restaurant.

The landlord filed an application dated July 8, 2024, to stay the award for damages by Justice Luca Naikuni of the Environment and Land Court.

However, Justices Agnes Murgor, Pauline Nyamweya and Grace Macharia have ruled that the landlord has not met the threshold for the grant of stay orders.

“We are therefore not satisfied that the applicant has demonstrated any irreversible prejudice it will suffer if the orders of the trial court are not stayed, and the intended appeal will thereby not be rendered nugatory,” said Justice Murgor.

On November 28, 2023, Justice Naikuni awarded Wambui Sh62,047,350 for general damages after he was evicted from his restaurant in Mtwapa, Kilifi County, by the landlord.

Wambui said that he leased the suit property on June 18, 2014, for a term of 10 years and three months with a promise of automatic renewal of the lease so as to recover his investment from one of the deceased shareholders of Frann Investment Limited.

Wambui filed for general damages for derogation from grant and unlawful constructive eviction and reimbursement of the value of the goods detained.

On January 24, 2025, the judge allowed the award to stay on condition that the landlord deposits Sh20,682,450 in a joint account held in the names of the respective advocates for the parties within 45 days from the date of delivery of the said ruling.

However, Justice Naikuni declined the landlord’s plea to deposit land worth Sh125 million as security. The landlord decided to appeal the same.

The landlord said that it does not have the Sh62,047,350 award, and the tenant would auction the land if the stay is not granted.

The landlord said that the tenant has never indicated his financial capacity and means, and thus recovering the money that the tenant will receive if execution is not stopped will be impossible.

In their ruling, the appellate court said that Frann did not avail a copy of the title deed it avers is available as alternative security.

“Therefore, no sums of money are being released to the respondent (Wambui) as alleged by the applicant (Frann Investment Limited), and on the contrary, the said orders protect both the interests of the applicant and the respondent in the event the intended appeal succeeds or fails,” said Justice Murgor.