The Environment and Lands Court in Nairobi has barred North Eastern politician Adiweli Duntow from interfering with or developing a multimillion-dollar property in Eastleigh, Nairobi, pending the outcome of a court case over an ownership dispute.
Justice Oscar Angote issued the order on July 15, 2023, after hearing an application by the administrators of the estates of Esther Nungari Kuhuithia, Gakuya Waweru, and Peninah Warura, who claim to be the rightful owners of the property.
The judge ordered Duntow and the Chief Lands Registrar of Lands to refrain from accessing the property until the case is heard and determined on July 25, 2023.
The court heard that the property was originally owned by Nungari, Gakuya, and Warura, who have since passed away.
Their children, James Godfrey Wachira, David Waweru Gakuya, and David Mburu Mwangi, are now the administrators of their estates.
In their application, the administrators allege that Duntow illegally registered the property under his name in September 2021.
They were shocked to discover this change in ownership when they went to pay rates at the county.
Waweru, one of the administrators, stated in an affidavit that he learned of the change in ownership when he made an inquiry about rates to the Nairobi City County rates department.
"I was shocked to learn that Adiweli Aden Duntow, the first defendant who is a stranger to the estate of the deceased, had fraudulently caused his name to be entered as the owner of the property in the rates department of the second defendant (Nairobi City County)," he said.
The administrators also claim that Duntow has been demanding that the tenants vacate the property so that he can demolish the building.
Duntow has denied the allegations, asserting that he is the rightful owner of the property.
He has filed a counterclaim against the administrators, alleging that they are attempting to defraud him.
The case is scheduled to be heard on July 25, 2023.