SBM Bank barred from auctioning home of separated couple
A court has barred SBM Bank from auctioning a matrimonial home belonging to a separated couple in Nairobi after establishing that the lender failed to inform the owner about the planned sale.
According to Justice Alfred Mabeya, Immaculate Njeri, the owner, did not get the statutory notice for sale of land as required by law.
In line with sources, due to a debt of Sh36 million, the bank sought to sell the property at Tulip Villas Convent Road.
Njeri and her ex-spouse Stephen Kinuthia’s home served as security for a Sh50 million loan made to Makaazi Management Company Limited in December 2017.
The court, according to Justice Mabeya, was unable to confirm that Njeri had received letters warning her that the borrower was in default and the notices informing her of the planned auction.
“Njeri has shown that her marriage with Kinuthia broke down, so it is possible that she was kept in the dark on the financial trouble that Makaazi Management Company Limited was in by her husband,” the judge stated.
He continued by saying that Njeri would suffer an irreparable loss because the suit property served as her marital residence, where she currently resides with her kids.
The ex-spouses were listed as the company’s guarantors in court documents, and a charge was registered over the suit property they share.
