Court halts auction of Laboso family land over Sh537m debt
Former Bomet Governor Joyce Laboso
The High Court has blocked Stanbic Bank from auctioning three parcels of land in Kericho County belonging to the family of former Bomet Governor Joyce Laboso over a debt of Sh537 million which a sister of the late county boss has contested.
Justice Roselyn Lagat Korir ruled that Judy Cheptoo Laboso — a sister of the governor — had proved that she had a strong case against the lender.
Cheptoo has sued Edwin Abonyo, the widower and administrator of the estate of the late governor and her sister Mary Chepkirui Laboso.
Ms Cheptoo argued that the loan was secured without her consent as the land that was charged to borrow the money is family property, which her sisters held in trust of beneficiaries of the estate of their late mother Rebecca Chebet Laboso.
“It is my finding therefore, that the applicant has proven that she has a prima facie case against the fourth respondent and thus satisfied the first condition for grant of an interlocutory injunction,” the judge said.
The court allowed Cheptoo to file the case on behalf of Itibo Limited, a company she said was incorporated in 2015 to run as a family business.
She submitted that she lives on the land and has known it as the only home, since she was born and now is at risk of being thrown out.
“Without going into too much detail, I am satisfied that the applicant would suffer grave injury if the charged land was sold by the bank,” the judge said, adding that the lender can still auction the land if Ms Cheptoo fails to show that the charge was fraudulent as alleged.
Ms Cheptoo filed the case in March 2021, seeking an order stopping the bank from selling the property—Kericho/Kapletundo/Chemagel 1/28 arguing that it was ancestral land.
She said she is a minority shareholder in the company where she held 12 shares — a company she incorporated together with her sister, the late governor, and brother David Kipkoech Langat.
Ms Cheptoo said that she received a notice on March 3, 2021 from the bank warning her of the intention to sell the property to recover the loan.
She submitted that she had no knowledge of any resolution passed by the company or minutes authorising the borrowing of the loan.
From the documents, she discovered that the properties were charged for a loan of $3,524,000 but the bank only disbursed $322,395.
She submitted that there were irregularities surrounding the charge and the money lent as there was no company seal affixed to the charge document and there was no letter of offer that led to the preparation of the charge.
Ms Cheptoo also said that her sisters used the title deeds to secure the loan, adding that it was never utilised for the benefit of the company.
Stanbic defended itself saying the loan was borrowed on March 14, 2017. The court heard that the company presented extracts of a board meeting and that the lender was not aware of any internal wrangles between the shareholders.
Further, the company defaulted in 2019 and the bank issued the statutory demand. The directors allegedly acknowledged the debt and promised to pay Sh15 million by March 23, 2023 but never paid any money.
