Business came to a standstill in a street in Maralal town as Nucleur Company directors stormed Paradise building with a court order to evict tenants who had defaulted on rent payment.
The court order was being implemented under tight security of police officers where doors were broken and property of tenants who had failed to pay monthly rent confiscated.
One of the company’s directors, Johnson Muriuki said that some tenants ignored court orders they were served with to vacate the building after it was bought from the rightful owner.
“We have escalated the matter up to High Court in Nakuru where a court order was issued directing them to vacate but they ignored yet they have not been paying rent for over one year, that is why all this is happening,” Muriuki said.
However, the tenants claim they have been paying rent to the family of their deceased landlord who also owned the building.
Maralal residents accused Nucleur Company of intimidating a widow and her children over inheritance of the double story building that was owned by her deceased husband.
Chris Lelkalepi the family spokesman said the widow has all legal documents among them the death certificate, title deed of he plot on which the building was constructed written in her late husband’s name and a written will among others to prove hat she is the legal inheritor of the property from her husband.
Lelkalepi noted that Emmanuel Lesoipa (deceased) had two wives, first wife, Leila Lesoipa (European) and Naserian Lesoipa (Samburu) and Emmanuel and Leila divorced in 2010 after he got a second wife.
“After the divorce, they divided their property equally and paradise building was left with Emmanuel and when he died the property was automatically passed down to the second wife.” he said.
Lelkalepi said they moved to a Nyeri Court to challenge non procedural selling of the property by Leila which is yet to be determined.
“It is shocking that property of the deceased was sold within 30 days without a death certificate, when we heard that the property was being sold we went to court to stop it, the case is currently before a Nyeri court,” he said.
He said the tenants have been caught in a tag of war since the businesses of those who pay rent to the family are being targeted while those who pay rent to nuclear are spared.
However, Suguta ward MCA, Shadrack Lesoipa has vowed to pursue all legal ways to ensure the family gets justice.
“We are not going to relent, we are going to seek justice in any courts available in this country because people cannot be intimidated in their own land,” he said.
By Robert Githu
