The High Court has rejected an application by Moses Kuria, the former Trade Cabinet Secretary and current senior economic advisor to President William Ruto, to stop the auctioning of his two parcels of land. The land is being sold to recover a debt of Sh54 million owed to Equity Bank.
In 2018, Kuria took out a Sh50 million loan from the bank, intended for the construction of a storey building for rentals. The first installment of Sh10 million was disbursed in May 2018, but according to Kuria, the bank had only provided Sh40 million of the agreed amount. Kuria subsequently sought alternative funding to complete the project.
However, as the project stalled, Kuria stopped repaying the loan in June 2022. The amount owed, including interest, had ballooned to Sh54 million by 2024.
Kuria explained that the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the economy and led to a surge in construction material prices, further hampering the progress of his project. He also cited a prolonged illness that kept him hospitalized and unable to oversee the work.
Despite these challenges, Justice Aleem Visram ruled on Monday, April 8, that Kuria had failed to meet the legal threshold to halt the auction. Justice Visram noted that efforts to renegotiate the loan repayment terms had failed, and there was no valid reason to prevent the bank from exercising its statutory power of sale.
Kuria had requested the court to block the auction, which was set to be carried out by Garam Auctioneers, but the court decided against his application.
While Kuria claimed to have repaid Sh5.7 million of the loan and expressed goodwill to settle the remaining balance, the court found that the circumstances did not justify halting the sale of the land.
