Simmers pub owner moves to court over demolition

A Nairobi businessman whose restaurant was demolished last week has moved to court.

Simmers Restaurant owner Suleiman Murunga has sued Nilestar Holdings Limited, Green Valley Limited, National Land Commission and the Attorney General over his eviction and demolition of the popular city joint.

Murunga now wants the directors of Nilestar Holdings Limited and Green Valley Limited to be detained for a period not exceeding six months for reasons of disobeying court orders.

“That the directors of the first defendant, namely Madatali Ebrahim, Jamilleh Ebrahim and Jalaledin Ebrahim together with the directors of the second defendant Margaret Wairimu Magugu and Kinyanjui Magugu and Gisbon Muchiri Ndungu and Leo Masore Nyangau be committed to civil jail for contempt of the orders of the court issues on July 14, 2014 and extended by the consent of the parties on December 15, 2016,” reads the court documents.

The businessman said their actions were “callous, fraudulent, illegal and contemptuous of the orders of the court and is in gross abuse of the judicial process.”

Murunga, a former Kimilili legislator, argues that the move was an act of contempt and deliberate disobedience of the court orders and was calculated to bring the court into disrepute.

He further says that he has lost his entire investment, stocks, furniture and equipment and that his employees have been rendered jobless.

In the application filed at the Environment division, Murunga wants possession of the premises restored to him.

“The applicant is apprehensive that the respondents are likely to commence development of the suit property and defeat the applicant’s interest and the course of justice,” he argues.

He argues that while the case was still pending, and with interim orders in place, they filed an application in the magistrate’s court on February 20, seeking his eviction.

The petitioner claims that the respondents unlawfully gained possession of the property through a mischievously obtained court order despite an already existing order.

Mr. Murunga argues that on December 24, 2013, the court granted him interim orders of injunction restraining the respondents from inta-alia levying distress upon his goods or trespassing or evicting him from the suit pending hearing and determination of his application for injunction.

“The said order was served upon the respondents and was extended from time to time with the respondents knowledge and connivance whenever the application came up for hearing or mention,” reads court documents.

In an affidavit, he says court brokers who proclaimed the applicant’s movable goods claiming alleged rent arrears amounting to Ksh.7,560,000, legal fees of Ksh.756,000 and court brokerage charges of Ksh.910,860.

The court has directed Murunga to file and serve the court papers to the respondents and appear for inter-party hearing in April.

“I have perused notice of motion dated March 5. I notice that the applicant is seeking mandatory orders ex-party. The application seeks to cite the respondents for contempt. Let the application be served for inter-party hearing on April 4, 2018,” ruled the court.