Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi has been ordered to release three vehicles that he had seized from the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA).
This is after KeNHA agreed to pay the lawyer Ksh750,000 for damages on the windscreen of his Bentley Bentayga as ordered by a Nairobi court last year.
Court documents stated that the lawyer had sent auctioneers to attach three KeNHA vehicles after the agency allegedly failed to pay the money awarded to him in a previous court ruling. The government agency has since assured the court that it has budgeted for Ahmednasir's compensation.
Among the KeNHA properties seized included two Toyota Prados, a pickup and an assortment of office furniture. Justice Chacha Mwita ordered the Senior Counsel to release the property back to the agency.
"In the end, having considered the twin applications, submissions and the law, it is this court's finding that section 68 of Kenya Roads Act, restricts attachment of KeNHA's assets and therefore, no attachment should have taken place," The judge ruled.
He further ordered KeNHA to pay the debt without delay. Justice Mwita also rejected KeNHA's request to deposit the money in court as a condition to stop the demand.
Ahmednasir had sued the state agency for negligence after his windscreen was damaged by stones that hit his car during the re-carpeting of the Nairobi-Namanga Highway.
In the suit, the Grand Mullah claimed that KeNHA failed to put up appropriate signs warning motorists of the road works ahead. He sought to have the agency held liable for the damage to his windscreen as well as pay the cost of the suit.
This led to a court ruling whereby a trial magistrate faulted KeNHA for the damages and awarded the city advocate Ksh750,000 as damages.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, the agency moved to court to appeal the decision arguing that the amount was exorbitant.
However, the application to suspend the payment was rejected in court by a trial magistrate who ruled that KeNHA's case lacked merit.
Ahmednasir made headlines in early 2018 when he acquired the posh Bentley Bentayga. Arguably one of the fastest SUVs in the market, the car's worth is estimated to be around Ksh47 million.
