Bidco Oil Refineries Chief Executive Officer Vimal Shah.
BY SAM ALFAN.
After losing a court battle over a land dispute in Nairobi Bidco Oil refinery has now opted for a negotiated settlement following an appeal.
The appeal court has given the oil company and Rosslyn Development limited 30 days to settle the dispute failure to which the matter will be determined by the three bench jury.
Bidco Oil Refineries now has 30 days to iron out the dispute, failure to which the Court of Appeal will remedy the row in a full hearing.
“By consent of parties of parties, this matter is adjourned for 30 days to enable parties negotiate an out of court settlement, in the event no settlement is reached, the appellant will file written submissions and serve within 14 days,” Judges Alnasir Visram, S.ole Kantai and Martha Koome ruled.
Bidco has been embroiled in an acquisition tussle over a prime plot in Nairobi’s suburb with Rosslyn Development Limited.
Rosslyn says that Bidco forcibly acquired the property located in Rosslyn Estate.
It is said that Bidco Director Vimal Shah, lay claim to the plot by invoking a legal mechanism known as adverse possession.
Affidavits filed by Rosslyn Development say that they have owned the property in 1995 from a couple known as Franscesco Stame and Maria Vittoria Stame.
The land, they say was neighboring another one that was owned by the defendant. A portion of that land is the center of the dispute.
Bidco on the other hand claims that they occupied the property enclosed by a wire fence but after starting to develop the plot, Rosslyn Development Limited objected.
They protested the fencing of a portion of the property.
Bidco lost a bid to acquire the property under adverse possession and as such appealed the decision.
A lower court ruled that Bidco failed to establish the degree required by law that it acquired any rights to the disputed portion.
