Three-year battle between county assembly and bar owner over building

Nyeri County Assembly has for the last three years been trying to eject a bar next to its chambers. Members of the County Assembly have in the past complained that noise from the Unity Bar and Restaurant, disrupts their proceedings.

The entrance to Unity Bar and Restaurant within Nyeri County Assembly premises. The property, previously leased out by the defunct County Council of Nyeri, has been the subject of a three-year court battle between the assembly and Benson Kinyua, a wealthy businessman. Kinyua refused to vacate after the lease expired in 2013 citing huge costs he had incurred in renovating the premise. PHOTO: MOSE SAMMY/STANDARD

The bar was leased out for business by the defunct county council but attempts by the assembly to eject the owner Benson Kinyua from the property have proved futile. Recently, there was a scuffle and one person was seriously injured.