Mr James Mwangi Rukwaro during an interview at Nation Centre, in Nairobi on September 6, 2025.
A businessman is asking the court to reverse a decision by a bank to auction his residence in the upmarket Kilimani estate, Nairobi, over a disputed Sh10.6 million loan.
In desperation, James Mwangi Rukwaro is urging the Milimani Commercial Court to intervene and compel the top regional lender to reverse its actions and restore his only home, where he lives with his school-going children.
Mr Rukwaro claims that the bank breached an undertaking it gave in court that it would not take any adverse action pending the determination of a case he filed challenging the amount demanded.
He argues that in March 2020, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) directed all lenders to restructure loan repayments for borrowers affected by the global Covid-19 pandemic. Despite this directive, he says, his house was advertised and sold without notice.
Senior Counsel Dr Gibson Kamau Kuria.
His lawyer, Senior Counsel Dr Gibson Kamau Kuria, has filed a certificate of urgency that has been admitted in court under Commercial Suit No E5310 of 2023 at the Milimani Commercial Courts.
Dr Kuria argues that Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) disregarded CBK’s circular when it declined Mr Rukwaro’s applications for loan restructuring made on June 30, 2020, and April 6, 2021.
Dr Kuria further alleges that KCB relied on a fraudulent valuation report to justify the purported sale of the property at an undervalue. He notes that in 2016, the bank’s valuer placed the property’s worth at Sh24 million, yet in 2023 a different valuer pegged it at Sh14.25 million — even though Mr Rukwaro’s own valuation placed its worth at Sh30 million.
Court pleadings state that the bank’s move amounts to deceit and a violation of court orders, given its undertaking that Mr Rukwaro and his family would continue in quiet possession of the house he purchased in 2016 for Sh7.5 million.
Mr Rukwaro says he is “greatly disturbed” by the auction conducted in secrecy despite a court undertaking on August 13, 2025, that no action would be taken until September 19, 2025, when another case challenging the loan demand was due for hearing.
He is asking the court not only to stop the sale but also to fine KCB Sh100 million and order its CEO, Paul Russo, to personally pay Sh5 million.
“That the honourable court be pleased to declare and hold that having been aware of the fact that on August 13, 2025 the third respondent - Cornelius Wangila Sikuku - in this suit gave to the court an implied undertaking that the defendant [KCB Bank] would not sell the suit property, apartment No. A5, Riverland Apartments on LR No. 330/695, Mr Rukwaro’s home before determination on September 19, 2025 on the Notice of Motion dated July 2025 stopping the sale of the same,”he states.
A businessman is asking the court to reverse a decision by KCB to auction his home in Kilimani estate, Nairobi, over a disputed Sh10.6 million loan.
He further seeks to have Mr Russo, the bank’s lawyer, Cornelius Wangila Sikuku, and auctioneer George Njoroge Muiruri of Phillips Int jailed for up to six months for contempt of court.
According to Dr Kuria, Mr Sikuku undertook in court on August 13 that no recovery actions would be taken against Mr Rukwaro until the pending case was determined. Despite this, Mr Rukwaro says, he was informed on August 22 that his house had been sold and that he would be required to vacate.
The lawyer also accuses the bank of undervaluing the property by Sh11 million, reducing its plinth area from 248 square metres (in a 2016 report) to 185.8 square metres in the latest valuation.
He further claims that the bank credited Mr Rukwaro’s account with Sh1 million from the purported sale proceeds on August 27, 2025 — an action he has rejected as the matter is still in court.
Mr Rukwaro, who works as a tour guide, admits that Covid-19 disrupted his repayment plan but says he has since resumed payments of Sh100,000 monthly. He maintains he was never informed of the auction, only learning of it from a newspaper advert on August 7, 2025, and a phone call from the alleged new owner seeking access to the house.
Dr Kuria argues that the auction contravened CBK’s March 27, 2020, circular directing lenders to engage distressed borrowers and restructure loans at no extra cost to them. He says KCB failed to invite Mr Rukwaro for discussions despite the pandemic devastating the tourism sector and closing hotels.
The lawyer urged the court to halt the sale, saying the case raises serious issues of law and merit. Magistrate Stephen J. Onjoro has certified the petition as urgent and scheduled it for hearing on September 9, 2025.
He directed Dr Kuria to serve KCB, Mr Sikuku, and the auctioneer with court papers to enable them to respond.
