Latoya Mghoi Kaka, the widow of former Nakumatt auditor James Karanja, has won a petition against the collapsed retailer over the compensation of Ksh 30 million insurance policy owed to the family.
Daily Nation on Monday, December 21, 2020, reported that High Court Magistrate Justice Albert Mabeya ruled in favour of the widow's claim, allowing her to reclaim the money from the once East Africa's largest retailer and it's owner Atul Shah.
Karanja was shot in the head and the chest three times on May 7, 2015. This was reportedly before he was to blow the whistle on fraudulent activities involving senior officials at Nakumatt.
The retailer had taken out an insurance policy on the late auditor that would see his family pocket Ksh 30 million if he died while an employee of the company.
The publication reported that on September 11, 2015, Kenindia insurance, the service provider, released the funds to Nakumatt which was to act as a conveyor belt for the money to reach Karanja's family.
Nakumatt is said to have diverted the money towards it's then punctured operations that have since collapsed.
Ms Kaka has since the demise of her husband in 2015, been chasing compensation from the retailer on the insurance policy. She had previously joined an insolvency petition by Nakumatt creditors, in which she presented her claim.
On September 11, 2020, appearing before the court, Shah denied the charges arguing that Ms Kaka was already listed as a creditor in the insolvency case. He further argued that the fresh suit against him was interfering with another ongoing case (the insolvency petition).
Ms Kaka, however, denied the allegations, stating that she was a beneficiary of an insurance policy. She argued that the fresh suit against Shah was entirely separate as she was seeking compensation of a policy the retailer was holding for her family.
Justice Mabeya ruled in favour of the widow allowing her to front her case against Nakumatt and Shah. A triumph in the case would see her granted permission to auction Nakummat's or Shah's assets as to recover the Ksh 30 million owed to her family.
She had been listed as an unsecured creditor in the prior case. In the event of liquidation of entities, these are the last people to be compensated, and in other instances, the funds never get to them.
