The family of former Cabinet Minister Laban Maingi Kitele is facing the prospect of losing property through an auction after a Machakos court gave it seven days to settle a debt or agree on a payment plan.
Environment and Land Court Judge A.Y. Koross gave the family and other parties involved in the dispute a temporary reprieve, allowing them seven days from September 22, 2026, day of his ruling, to pay the debt or agree on how it will be settled.
If they fail, the auction process that had already started can proceed.
The ruling arose from a dispute involving Ngumbau Investments Limited, trading as Courtyard Hotel, and Kitele Investments Limited and administrators of the estate of the late Mr Kitele.
The case has been running since 2018, with the latest dispute sparked by an attempt to seize and sell property to recover money owed following the court’s earlier decision.
A company known as Kings Premier Inn Ltd, which was not a party to the original dispute, went to court after auctioneers moved to seize property it said belonged to it.
It complained that its assets had been listed for sale even though it was a separate company from the party against whom the debt was owed.
In an affidavit, Alice Mueni Kingo'o said auctioneers had on April 16, 2026, attached property belonging to Kings Premier Inn and intended to sell it.
She told the court that the company was the owner of the seized items and that it should not be forced to meet a debt owed by another company.
“The objector asserts legal ownership of the attached properties,” the ruling says.
The other parties seeking payment, however, disputed this claim.
They told the court that Kitele Investments Limited owned 99 per cent of Kings Premier Inn, while the remaining shares were held by Ms Kingo'o, who is the wife of Anthony Kingoo Ngunga, one of the people named in the case.
They argued that the company structure was being used to shield property from those seeking to recover the money.
They accused the respondents of using separate companies to avoid settling the debt and argued that the objection was intended to delay the process.
The court examined the property that had been listed for attachment, including a Toyota Land Cruiser registration number KCN 222E, 40 TV sets and assorted kitchen cutlery.
The company had failed to demonstrate that it had any ownership interest in the vehicle, the judge said.
The court also found that the company had not provided enough evidence to show that most of the other items belonged to it.
A certificate showing that the company had been incorporated was not enough, the judge said, to prove ownership of the goods that had been seized.
However, the company produced receipts that persuaded the court that two categories of property, the 40 TV sets and assorted kitchen cutlery belonged to it. The judge therefore ordered that these items be removed from the auction list.
“The proclamation for attachment and sale of assets on the 40 TV sets and assorted kitchen cutlery... is lifted,” the ruling states.
This means that, apart from the TV sets and kitchen equipment, the execution process can continue if the debt is not paid or a payment agreement is not reached within seven days.
The dispute has also brought into focus the relationship between Kitele Investments and Kings Premier Inn.
The creditors argued that the ownership structure of the latter company meant that assets held by it could be reached in the effort to recover the money.
Kings Premier Inn, however, maintained that it was an independent company with its own property and obligations.
The judge said that any attempt to treat the two companies as one would have to follow the proper court process.
