A Mombasa based businessman and New Mega Africa Limited director David Abai Omusala has raised a red flag over alleged threat to his life amid a longstanding court battle with Absa Bank Kenya PLC.
Through a distress police report made at Mtwapa Police Station vide Occurrence Book Number OB 72/07/12/2022 and a complaint letter addressed to Coastal Regional Criminal Investigations Officer dated December 14, 2022, Abai who heads the transport firm, Mega claimed that his life in danger.
In November 2022, New Mega Africa Limited sued Absa Bank, Nyali Branch for alleged illegal disclosure of confidential information and data to third parties.
In the civil suit, New Mega Africa Limited demanded Sh1.5 billion as compensation over the same and the case is still ongoing.
Absa Bank unsuccessfully attempted to overturn the Sh1.5billion award New Mega Africa Limited over alleged data breach.
However, the court granted the bank permission to file documents to contest the award. The court made the award after the bank failed to defend the claim filed against it last year.
The money was awarded to the firm based on allegations of a data breach, but the bank wants the award reversed, arguing there was no legal basis for it.
The Court issued a decree on November 9 2022, requiring the bank to pay the transport firm billions for allegedly leaking confidential information to third parties, causing the company’s credit ratings to suffer.
New Mega Africa Limited claimed it suffered losses as a result of the bank’s data breach, which it claimed crippled its business.
The High Court has already temporarily stayed the decree’s execution to allow the bank to explain why it failed to file its documents within the required timeframe despite being served with court documents.
The bank has claimed that the final decree was obtained without following the law, which requires formal proof of the claims made in the firm’s documents.
It also argued that the decree was issued based on speculative and presumptive claims that were not supported by evidence and that the firm withheld certain material facts relevant to the merits of the case on purpose.
“Immediately upon serving the pleadings on the bank on or about October 5, 2022, one of the bank’s officers adversely mentioned in the case called one of the company’s witnesses with a view of inducing him to recant his evidence against the bank.” Abai’s complaint letter to the Coastal region DCI boss reads in part.
According to Abai’s letter, it is after this that the company through its lawyers wrote to the bank and the two parties agreed to end the matter and only focus on the court case.
Despite the agreement, Abai revealed that it didn’t take long for him to notice unknown people trailing him using unregistered or missing plate motorcycles.
“Having observed this trend for a few days, I decided to be careful with the places I frequent. On December 6,2022, I received a call from an anonymous number threatening me with unspecified consequences if I continue with the case against the bank.” Abai added.
The row between Absa and New mega Africa stemmed from the bank’s alleged refusal to approve the company’s loan request on time, crippling its business.
The advance was secured through a charge over a property located in Kitisuru, Nairobi among other securities.
Last month, Last month, Abai received a court order stopping the lender from auctioning its property over unpaid loans.
Justice Josephine Mongare certified as urgent the application filed by New Mega Africa Ltd and issued the directive saving the company’s assets from being auctioned over Sh86million debt.
“A temporary injunction order be and is hereby issued restraining the bank and its employees or agents from advertising for sale, selling by private treaty, or conducting or concluding a public auction of all that land pending the hearing and determination of the suit,” said the judge.
Justice Mongare further issued an order preventing the transfer of the title of the property in Kitusuru in Nairobi, to a third party pending active litigation of the case.
Absa Bank moved to seize the company’s assets to recover unpaid loans, which it says stood at Sh86.4 million as of September 30, 2022.
The bank claims that this loan has fallen into arrears and continues to accrue interest, despite its calls for the company to regularise the account.
“As a result, the bank has commenced the process of realisation of the securities in a bid to recover the outstanding loan amount,” Absa said in its court documents.
The lender said the firm had been given sufficient time to regularise its loan accounts but did not honour the contractual commitment to pay the loan arrears.
However, New Mega Africa director Abai sought temporary orders prohibiting the bank from advertising for sale or auctioning the property.
It is also alleged that numerous letters written to the bank requesting for restructuring of the loan were met with long delays affecting the firm’s operations.
