Woman wins Sh725m in property case

She left the court smiling, after being turned into one of the richest Kenyans.

Mrs Nancy Wanja Gatabaki, 65, was awarded Sh725 million (in cash and property) in a deal that resolved a case that threatened to derail one of the biggest housing projects in the country on Tuesday.

In a settlement reached in the chambers of Justice Mohammed Warsame, Mrs Gatabaki was allocated 42 houses in the Sh30 billion Fourways Junction Housing project in Kiambu County.

Justice Warsame entered the agreement in a case Mrs Gatabaki had filed against Muga Developers Ltd, which she jointly owns with her husband, Dr Samuel Gatabaki, through another company Sagana, claiming she had been sidelined from the project.

The money would be paid by the Suraya Group in instalments of Sh140 million within 14 days and another Sh262 million in six months.

The balance of Sh323 million was commuted to 42 houses in the Fourways Housing Project. She was also allocated 3.6 acres of the prime land.

The couple had surrendered their 200-acre land to the Suraya Group, which is owned by Mr Peter Kiarie Muraya and his wife Sue Wacheke Muraya, to build commercial houses.

Lawyer Cecil Miller for Muga Developers and six other investors who brokered the deal with Mr Kamau Karori for I&M Bank Limited, told Justice Warsame that 281 houses had been completed.

Muga and Suraya had obtained a Sh1.5 billion loan from Equity Bank Limited and Sh400 million from I&M Bank for the project.

Mr Miller had on Monday asked the judge to allow the parties to reach a deal out of court. Yesterday, he said the negotiations took 15 hours and 15 minutes.

“I am happy to report that the discussions have yielded fruit,” Mr Miller told the judge who had ordered that all directors of the companies involved in the dispute appear before him.

The Gatabakis were directed to pay the banks Sh20 million each. The plaintiff and Suraya Group were ordered to pay Mr Karori Sh10 million and Mr Ashford Muriuki Sh5 million in legal fees. Mrs Gatabaki was also exempted from any bank liabilities.

Also a winding up case against Muga Developers has been marked as settled. All payments will be done through Mr Miller’s law firm.

Mrs Gatabaki claims it has emerged to her that the company was created with intent to defraud her and Sagana Developers of their land benefits and profits.