According to the court papers, the bishop says that the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the suit and the application as the same ought to be heard by cooperative tribunal as required by the law.
“The entire suit is incurably and faulty flawed as the dispute ought to be determined under the mandatory provisions of section 77 of the cooperatives societies Act Cap490 of law of Kenya,” said the Sacco through lawyer Omari.
Lawyer Omari says that due to the foregoing grounds, the suit cannot be sustained and ought to be struck out with costs in the Sacco’s favor.
The eleven members of the Sacco include vice chairman Samuel Macharia, Godfrey Gichuhi,
Moses Njoroge, Mary Wanjeri, Hannah Mugure, Geoffrey Maina, Linus Nduati, George Joseph Njoroge, Joseph Irungu, Frederick Muthuria and Simon Kagoni.
In the case Milimani commercial court has since issued temporarily barred the commissioner of Cooperatives Development Mary Mungai from removing management committee members namely removing management committee members namely Chairman Gakuyo, Vice Chairman James Kimani Wanjuu, Member Lydia Nyaguthii , secretary Anne Bombua, Treasurer Mark Nyagah, Supervisory committee chair Samuel Mwaura Kariuki , Supervisory committee Grace Wanjiru Muthari and Supervisory committee Josephat Gathege Kariuki pending the hearing and determination of the application before court.
They argued that if the court does not intervene on an urgent basis the affairs of the Ekeza Sacco shall be liable to neglect, plunder and wastage which shall diminish and obliterate the value of the members’ investment.
The Saccos members claims that Ekeza management is about to be overthrown by the commissioner of society leaving its affairs in an uncertain state open to loss, plunder and at the mercy of the vagaries of neglect.
“On February 5, 2019 , the management committee of commissioner of society at direction of the Ekeza sacco issued a notice convincing a special general meeting on February 21,2019 to be held at Kasarani sports center at ,10:00 am whose agenda was the presentation of the inquiry report,” says lawyer Omari.
They further said that enquiry report was not at the special general meetings at all and the proceedings of the special general meeting ignored the agenda of removal of the validly and without basis delved into extraneous matters.
Lawyer Omari further told the court that the special general meetings was misguided by officers of the Ekeza Sacco into conducting election or appointment of an interim management committee conspiring Nairobi region Chairman Charles Macharia Mage,Nyeri region vice chairman Sammy Macharia , Nakuru region Stephen Ndung’u Thou, Treasurer Peter Njuguna and Committee member James Warutere Mwangi.
They claimed that the commissioner actions violated basic natural rights of the management committee members and it’s members.
“The defedant, in spite of several requests by the plaintiffs, has neglected or refused to release a report on the findings of the inquiry the defedant launched into the activities of David Kariuki Ngari,” said the committee management members.
The commissioner illegal actions will expose the Ekeza Sacco Society Limited and David Kariuki Ngari to irreparable damages.
They added the wholesale removal of management committee members and without justification expose the sacco to loss of institutional memory and continuity in the running of the affairs of the sacco.
They added that commissioner actions were punctuated with irrationality and fixated on arriving at a predetermined objective of grabbing the affairs of the Ekeza sacco from the lawfully elected management committee.
