A contractor is seeking to attach nominated Senator Hezena Lemaletian's movable property to recover Sh447,823 awarded by the courts in a dispute over unpaid landscaping services.
The execution follows the dismissal of the senator's High Court appeal against a Small Claims Court judgment ordering her to pay the contractor, Silas Thuranira Muturia, trading as Simut Logistics.
Court warrants have been issued authorising auctioneers to attach and, if necessary, sell her movable property to enforce the decree.
The dispute began in September 2023 when contractor sued the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Senator in the Milimani Small Claims Court, claiming Sh291,165 remained unpaid for landscaping and related works undertaken at her property between April and June 2023.
The contractor told the court the project included building retaining walls, staircases, excavation, ground levelling, planting flowers, shrubs and ground cover, installing cabro paving and constructing a fireplace.
He said he later issued three invoices but the outstanding balance was never settled. Ms Lemaletian admitted hiring the contractor but denied he had completed the work properly.
She argued that the retaining wall collapsed soon after construction, forcing her to rebuild it, while the staircase failed to meet her expectations and had to be reconstructed.
She also said the contractor abandoned the fireplace before completion, failed to undertake some agreed works and left behind unpaid workers.
She added that he breached the agreement by failing to supply materials, forcing her to buy them herself and spend more money correcting what she described as defective workmanship.
As for the grass, flowers shrubs and ground cover, the grass did not serve the purpose as it was not well planted and the ground cover amounted to waste following the collapse of the retaining wall.
On March 22, 2024, the Small Claims Court entered judgment for the contractor after finding that the senator had not filed a formal counterclaim or pleaded a legal set-off against the debt claim.
Ms Lemaletian challenged that decision before the High Court, but her appeal was later dismissed. The court ruled that the contractor's invoices, together with the admitted contract, sufficiently supported the claim.
The court also held that the senator's arguments about additional expenses could not defeat the contractor's claim because they had not been formally pleaded as a counterclaim or set-off.
"A total failure to formally plead a set-off or counterclaim cannot be treated as a mere technicality," the judgment said.
Following the unsuccessful appeal, the contractor returned to court and obtained warrants authorising Viewline Auctioneers to recover Sh447,823.77, comprising the decretal amount of Sh371,243, accrued interest of Sh76,580 and execution costs.
The warrants require the auctioneers to return them to court before September 25, 2026 with details of execution or reasons they were not carried out.
The proclamation served by the auctioneers lists sofas, televisions, a refrigerator, microwave, coffee table, sound system, gas cylinders, carpets, a washing machine and curtains among property targeted for attachment.
It also states that other movable assets, including motor vehicles found during attachment, may be seized if necessary to satisfy the decree.
Separately, the contractor has also filed a party-and-party bill of costs seeking Sh224,000 for legal fees incurred during the appeal, including instruction fees, court attendances and filing expenses.
