An administrator appointed by I&M Bank to manage multi-billion shillings assets belonging to Cape Holdings Ltd, including the property where DusitD2 hotel stands has pleaded for an extension of her term.
Ms Vruti Shantilal Shah asked three judges of the appellate court to extend her tenure, saying it was in the interest of justice and for the good of all creditors that she continues to oversee the property.
Ms Shah’s term ended in June and her attempts to seek an extension were rejected by High Court Judge Alfred Mabeya saying she had not shown what she had done for the 12 months she was in charge.
The property was charged to the bank over a loan of Sh2.82 billion and it is, at the same time, being claimed by Synergy Industrial Credit Ltd over a debt of Sh5.5 billion arising from a botched deal for the purchase of a block in the complex, over a decade ago.
“We urge this court to allow the status quo prevailing before June 9 to stand and allow the administrator to continue running the company pending the determination of appeals before this court,” lawyer Kennedy Kthinji told Justices Asike Makhandia, Sankale ole Kantai, and Mwaniki Gachoka.
The plea was supported by lawyer William Kabaiku for the lender stating that the court has the power to extend the term to meet the ends of justice.
However, senior counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi for Synergy Industrial Credit opposed the extension saying the court has no such powers. The lawyer said there has been no chaos for the five months in which there has been no administrator.
