Former Cabinet Secretary (CS) and President William Ruto’s senior economic advisor Moses Kuria has failed in his bid to stop Equity Bank from auctioning his property in Kiambu over Sh54 million debt.
High Court judge Aleem Visram ruled that Mr Kuria had failed to meet the threshold required to stop the auction. The judge ruled the bank had carried out the process of recovery in accordance with the law, the debt was expressly admitted and has been outstanding for a long period of time.
“...It is evident that all efforts to renegotiate the terms of repayment in an amicable manner have failed. There is therefore no valid ground upon which the bank ought to be restrained from exercising its statutory power of sale,” ruled the judge.
Mr Kuria had moved to court to stop the lender and Garam Investments Auctioneers from selling the land in Kiambaa, Kiambu County.
The court heard that the former Investments and Trade CS took a loan of Sh54 million from the bank on March 15, 2018. The loan was for the construction of five-storey rental blocks on two of the properties.
The parties agreed that Mr Kuria would be allowed a moratorium on principal repayment for a period of nine months from the date of first disbursement.
Evidence showed that the loan would be repaid by 111 instalments compromising principal and interest in the sum of Sh402,832 each, until payment in full. The loan was secured using three properties in Kiambu.
Mr Kuria did not deny the debt, but defended himself saying he was unable to service the loan because he could not develop the properties due to Covid-19 pandemic.
Court records showed that as at June 2022, Mr Kuria stopped servicing the loan. By the time the lender issued notices for sale of the property, the outstanding loan stood at Sh54.3 million.
The former CS had claimed that the pandemic caused a surge in the price of building materials and that he fell sick during the period and was admitted in hospital for rehabilitation of his leg which was damaged during an accident.
He revealed that the bank had threatened to sell one of the properties, which contained five-storey block with 27 units.
Mr Kuria said he had completed the houses and engaged the bank with plans of repaying the loan.
The bank said Mr Kuria was unable to service the loan as agreed forcing Equity Bank to issue notices and exercise its statutory power of sale.
Justice Visram said looking at the record, it was evident that the former CS was unable to service the loan, and the facility fell into arrears.
The bank submitted that on January 24, 2025, Mr Kuria agreed to settle the arrears by Sh850,000 monthly payments but he failed to do so.
Mr Kuria on his part said he made a payment of Sh733,000 to clear the arrears.
“However, I take note that the said payment is less than the sum agreed to be paid between the parties, and based on the record, to date, no such appropriate payments have been made in accordance with the various agreement of the parties, prompting the Respondent to issue instructions to the 2nd Defendant (Garam) to sell the subject Properties,” said the judge.
The judge said there was evidence of correspondence between the parties over the default, and reminders to the former CS that payments were due.
Justice Visram said while he empathized with Mr Kuria for suffering from health challenges, and was even hospitalised for a period between 2020 and 2021, unfortunately, the same was not a legal ground for the grant of the injunctive orders in circumstances.
“I am satisfied, in light of the above, that the relevant statutory notices were duly served on the Applicant, and that the Bank’s statutory powers of sale have crystalized in accordance with the law,” said the judge.
