Billionaire businessman Peter Muthoka. PHOTO | FILE
By KIARIE NJOROGE, gkiarie@ke.nationmedia.com
In Summary
- Acceler Global Logistics, a firm owned by Peter Muthoka, has won a court order to freeze Sh81 million of the Sh151 million it had paid Rahil International for prime four-acre plot on Mombasa Road.
- Mr Muthoka has also sued Coulson Harney for releasing money to Rahil International despite his firm calling for the land deal to be cancelled following questions over the real owners of the plot.
Billionaire businessman Peter Muthoka has secured a
court order freezing millions of shillings paid in a contested land deal
that has sucked in Nairobi’s top law firms.
Acceler Global Logistics, a firm owned by Mr Muthoka, has won a court order to freeze Sh81 million of the Sh151 million it had paid Rahil International for prime four-acre plot on Mombasa Road.
Acceler Global Logistics, a firm owned by Mr Muthoka, has won a court order to freeze Sh81 million of the Sh151 million it had paid Rahil International for prime four-acre plot on Mombasa Road.
Mr Muthoka has also sued top corporate law firm Coulson
Harney for releasing the millions to Rahil International despite his
firm, Acceler Global Logistics, calling for the land deal to be
cancelled following questions over the real owners of the plot.
“The 1st defendant (Rahil International) deposit
the sum of Sh81,100,000 into a joint interest-earning account in the
name of Counsel for the plaintiff (Mohammed Muigai Advocates) and the
1st defendant herein within three days,” Justice Eric Ogola ordered.
The row started with the signing of a land purchase
agreement between Acceler Global Logistics and Rahil International
Limited, which claimed ownership of the prime Mombasa Road land worth
Sh168 million.
A deposit of Sh16.8 million or 10 per cent of the
purchase price was paid with the agreement that the lawyers would pay
the balance of Sh151.2 million upon registration of the title in the
name of the buyer.
It was later found that the land appeared to have
two registered titles both with differing signatures and the handwriting
on entries also differing.
Acceler Logistics was unable to take move into the
property measuring 1.6 hectares after it found another party was
engaging in excavation, which prompted it to issue instructions to
Coulson Harney not to complete the transaction.
In a letter to Coulson Harney Advocates dated March
21 2016, Acceler demanded a refund of the balance of the purchase price
or Sh151.2 million and a termination of the land deal given its unclear
ownership.
Coulson Harney replied the next day that it was
legally bound to release the money and said the “suspicion of fraud” had
been settled by the Land registry.
The High Court on March 31 issued an injunction
restraining Coulson Harney from releasing the funds pending the hearing
and determination of the case.
Coulson Harney replied that the suit had been
overtaken by events as the firm had already released the balance to the
advocates of the sellers of the property.
By this time, Rahil had withdrawn half of the
purchase price, which has now been frozen and put in a joint account
pending the conclusion of the case.
“At the time the 1st defendant was instructed by
their advocates not to deal with the funds, the account had a sum of
Sh83, 116, 975,” Benjamin Tarus, a director with Rahil said in an
affidavit. The other directors are David Ritho, Duncan Achar and Joseph
Okoth.
The suit offers a peek into Kenya’s rickety manual land record that has been prone to manipulation.
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