BY SAM ALFAN.
Developer Guangzhou Villas Ltd, a company embroiled in a dispute with eight home owners among them a high court judge over the construction of a plot in Nairobi’s upmarket Lavington neighbourhood wants orders blocking the development lifted.
The private developer in the court documents claims that the judge Joel Ngugi and his neighbors Angela Musimba, Stephen Kamau, Charles Mukiri, Evans Sigilai, Sylvia Kang’ara and John Wang’ombe do not own the said property.
The suit comes days after justice Ngugi together with his neighbours obtained orders blocking Guangzhou Villas Ltd from accessing a plot adjacent to the one where their houses stand.
Guangzhou Villas Ltd says that is the registered owner of the said plot. According to the company’s lawyer Royford Mwenda the said order has occasioned great hardship and financial loss to the company, after they were forced to stop construction works in its property.
The lawyer further submit that the eight home owners do not have any beneficial interest on the disputed plot and they have never owned property L.R 3734/1046 neither nor the developer (leaser) has ever held legal title in respect to the property (the applicant property L.R 3734/1046).
The developer dismissed application by the judge and six others allegations that the Nairobi County government demolished their property are not true.
“The plaintiffs had blocked the access road by erecting an illegal structure. Consequently, the county government in exercise of its powers issued the enforcement notice which the plaintiffs did not comply with,” developer told the court.
Justice Ngugi and his neighbours obtained orders on October 15,2019 before Justice Elijah Obaga of Environment and Land Court.
The firm further said the allegations by the plaintiffs there was purported plans of amalgamation of the two plots- No. L.R 3734/1045 and L.R 3734/1046 are false.
The first plot, which borders the main road and is called Oryx Villas, has nine maisonettes all of which have been bought and occupied by different owners, including the judge. The judge is one of the nominees for appointment as judge of the Court of Appeal.
The second plot, which is undeveloped, is the subject of an ownership dispute between the judge and his neighbours, who claim it belongs to the developer of their houses, former National Social Security Fund (NSSF) managing trustee Fred Rabongo and his wife Mary Akatch through their company Impulse Holdings Ltd.
