By Sam Alfan.
Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi and his wife have been ordered to deposit Sh10 million as a security, pending hearing of an appeal challenging a court judgment ordering them.to vacate a contested parcel of land in posh Muthaiga estate valued at Sh1billion.
Court of Appeal Judges Daniel Musinga, Patrick Kiage and Agrey Muchelule ordered Mwangi and his wife Jane Wangui Mundia to deposit the money in an interest earning account.
The court directed the account be opened within 60 days of the directive, in the joint names of his lawyer and Mount Pleasant limited, who owns the land.
The judges further ordered the status quo with regard to the suit property to be maintained pending hearing and determination of the appeal.
According to a document received by the Environment and Land Court on January 7 this year, Mount pleasant ltd informed the court that the firm has already executed the court order.
“The above court order has been executed today the 07/01/2026 under supervision of the OCS Gigiri and now the plaintiff MOUNT PLEASANT LTD has now gained possession of the property,” state a document signed by Gigiri OCS filed in court.
The Equity boss together with his wife appealed against the decision of the Environment and Land Court stated that they were not the rightful owners of the contested property.
Other than vacating the land, which he claimed to have purchased from former President Daniel Moi in 2013, for Sh306 million, the Environment and Land court directed the Equity Bank boss to pay the owner Sh10 million as damages for trespass.
The lower court ruled that businessman Anverali Amershi Karmali through his firm Mount Pleasant Ltd owned the contested property.
Mount Pleasant Ltd said it purchased the three-acre parcel of land from Moi era Finance minister Arthur Magugu in July 2006 for Sh130 million.
Justice Oscar Angote issued mandatory injunction directing the couple to vacate and surrender the land within 30 days, failing which they should be evicted by Gigiri and Muthaiga police.
“An order does hereby issue that the Officer Commanding Station (OCS), Gigiri Police Station and or Muthaiga Police Station, to provide assistance in the enforcement of the orders for vacant possession and in securing Mount’s quiet and peaceful occupation of the suit properties,” the court ruled.
The court further directed the Chief Land Registrar to expunge and cancel all entries, conveyances and titles relating to the purported ownership by the Equity bank boss and his wife , and to nullify the amalgamation of L.R. Nos. 214/20/2 and 214/20/1/1 into L.R. No..214/832.
Justice Angote said that the evidence by Equity bank boss and his wife was that they took possession of the suit land in 2013, immediately after the title was issued in their names.
On the other hand, the Mount Pleasant’s case was that its guards were arrested in the year 2013, but released, and continued guarding the suit property until March, 2020, when they were evicted from the suit land by Mwangi and his wife.
“In this regard, taking into account the acreage of the suit property, the location thereof, the duration of trespass complained of, and the value of the property estimated at Sh.1 Billion as per the valuation reports of 2022, the court comes to the conclusion that an award of the Sh.10 million would suffice, as appropriate recompense to and in favor of the Mount Pleasant ltd as damages for trespass,” Judge Angote ruled in his decision.
The Judge said although no conclusive forensic or investigative determination was made by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on claims of forgeries, the documentary record, when assessed on a balance of probabilities, discloses significant anomalies.
“While the court stops short of finding fraud attributable to Mwangi and his to the requisite standard of proof, which, as aforesaid must be proved to a standard higher than the ordinary civil threshold, it nonetheless holds that even if the nemo dat quod non habet principle were found inapplicable, the numerous procedural and documentary irregularities surrounding the conveyance, amalgamation, and registration of the Mwangi and his wife’ title would, on their own, suffice to impeach it under Section 26(1)(b) of the Land Registration Act,” said the judge.
Karmali said in the case at the Land court that sometimes in June 15, 2020, the lender’s CEO visited the land accompanied by police officers, who removed guards on the contested property and replaced them with others.
The businessman alleges that the records at the land registry were tampered with such that it is difficult to trace successive owners of the contested land.
He said he was forced to move to court to remove Mwangi from the property.
He also claims that he did a search at the Ministry of Lands and discovered that the file containing a history of the land was missing.
Karmali says he was advised to file a missing file complaint and he obtained a certificate confirming Mount Pleasant was the registered owner of the land but there was a twist later, as the Equity Bank CEO allegedly also showed up with a certificate showing they were the registered owners of the subdivided properties.
He says he purchased the property from Magugu and his wife Margaret Wairimu on July 21, 2006 for Sh130 million.
Court documents state that the former minister had charged the property to the National Bank for a loan of Sh10.5 million in the late 80s through a company identified as MDC Holdings Ltd.
The company allegedly defaulted on the loan repayment and the lender sued the company in a bid to recover the loan.
The lender and MDC Holdings later entered an agreement in October 2002 where he was to pay Sh90 million for the land, and part of which would repay the loan and the balance be taken by Magugu.
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