Polish investor, SK Macharia land tussle that left multi-million villas demolished in Diani
A Polish investor has been hospitalised following the demolition of her multi-million-shilling hotel in Diani, Kwale county in a land dispute involving a prominent businessman.
Iwona Strezelecka, a director at Estate Sonrisa Limited, is recuperating at a hospital in Diani following Friday afternoon’s demolition, where her lawyer Lilian Oluoch-Wambi claims she was hit by one of the police officers who were supervising the demolition.
Speaking from her hospital bed the investor, Strezelecka, whose two villas and main building, with seven guest rooms, were demolished, said the auctioneers demolished the wrong premises saying she wasn’t served with court orders.
She said the order was for eviction of persons on land Galu/Kinondo/50 while her property is on land Galu/Kinondo/48.
“There are only three villas remaining. We have lost approximately Sh200 million, forcing us to evacuate our guests most of them foreigners” said the Polish national, who is married to veteran Kenyan rally driver Azar Anwar.
Strezelecka claims ownership of 1.9-hectare piece of land on which Hotel Sonrisa is built, which was demolished on Friday at around 2pm.
Five Eleven Traders and Auctioneers acting on behalf of prominent businessman Samuel Kamau Macharia, said their client is in possession of a court order issued on February 17 to execute a decree issued on October 13, 2014 on the piece land.
Macharia also claims ownership of the land saying it is part of his land under title deed number Galu/Kinondo/50, which he says he bought in 1981.
The decree, which was issued on January 6, 2015 and certified on January 25 this year, declares that SK Macharia is the bonafide and legal owner of the 1.7 hectares parcel of land under title number Galu/Kinondo/50.
The decree also declares that Ali Khan Ali Muses and Estate Sonrisa Limited be evicted after Macharia sued Ali and Sonrisa in 2014 for encroaching on his land.
A ruling in favour of Macharia was appealed by Sonrisa and Ali in 2016 but the appeals were dismissed.
Sonrisa says their title deed erroneously states that their land measures 0.9 hectares while in the maps and measurements on the ground, it is actually 1.9 hectares.
It is this difference that has brought about the conflict with Macharia saying Sonrisa has encroached into the 1 hectares of his land.
In January, Strezelecka, through lawyer Oluoch-Wambi obtained an injunction order stopping Macharia from interfering with the property pending hearing and determination of the application ex parte.
However, the auctioneers on Wednesday obtained eviction orders from Naikuni. Naikuni said the matter will be mentioned on March 3.
Oluoch-Wambi protested the order saying the judge cannot issue an order against his order without setting aside the previous stay order.
Strezelecka is said to have collapsed about 40 minutes after the start of the demolition exercise.
She is said to be in a state of shock and cannot speak.
“We have contacted her husband who is to jet in anytime from now,” said one of her employees.
