Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru is embroiled in a court battle with a city lawyer over the ownership of her multimillion shillings property.
The transaction for the purchase of the Ksh200 million Kitisuru home by Waiguru has run into fresh legal headwinds with lawyer Chris Kabiro claiming ownership of the property.
The former Devolution Cabinet Secretary had bought the property from Kihingo Village Limited on September 25, 2015, for Ksh80.6 million and the property's value has now appreciated to an estimated sale value of Ksh200 million.
Waiguru paid Ksh40.6 million and was left with a balance of Ksh40 million that she was supposed to clear.
At the time she purchased the house, it had been allocated to lawyer Chris Kabiro, who is now claiming ownership and wants the governor to be kept out of “his property."
Court documents filed by Kabiro indicate that at the time Waiguru purchased the house in 2015, there was a court order barring Kihingo from selling, alienating, transferring, charging, or tampering with the property.
The court order barring the sale of the property was issued by Justice Erick Ogola on December 5, 2012, following a suit by Kabiro and subsequently confirmed on December 5, 2013.
The lawyer now wants the court to dismiss a case Waiguru filed seeking to compel the company dealing with the property to complete the sale transaction.
However, in its defence, the firm told the court that completing the transaction would amount to contempt of the court order forbidding the sale of the suit property.
Furthermore, lawyer Chris Kabiro now wants to court to issue an eviction notice to the Kirinyaga governor because the house was not available for sale or alienation to Waiguru.
Kabiro further acknowledged that the Kirinyaga governor was a victim of an illegal transaction but nevertheless noted that the court could not protect victims of illegal transactions.
The case is set for hearing on November 22, 2022.
