With half of family wealth lost, here are the trials and tribulations of the Gachoka's

Politician Tony Gachoka. [File, Standard]

The Gachokas have lost half their wealth

In their attempt to straighten up things, the family of the late businessman Joseph Muiruri Gachoka has lost half the wealth he left behind and may now just lose everything.

At the time of his death in 1988, Gachoka through his family company Central Kenya Ltd had pending loans with the Bank of Baroda.

For the loans and one mortgage facility, he charged three of his prime properties in Thika and Nairobi. They included three acres of prime land situated in Eastleigh, Nairobi.

He had executed a deed of guarantee undertaking to pay “provided that the total amount recoverable” would be limited to Sh6,000,000 with interest. Upon his death, his company had difficulties paying the loans.

At the very outset, the Bank sold two of the properties, leaving the 3-acre piece of land in Eastleigh which was charged to a mortgage facility.

As the family was struggling with the loans, it emerged that their prime asset, the 85 acre Thika farm had secretly been charged to another bank by one of their members for a tidy sum.

In quick succession, the Bank auctioned off the Thika farm property to a private company which proceeded to charge it to another bank making an already thick situation worse.

Back at the loans which existed before Gachoka’s death, the amounts had been Ksh6,000,000 at 14 percent interest.

Citing the contract, the bank raised the interest to as high as 45 per cent so that the debt ballooned to Sh200,000,000. The family had paid upward of Sh12,000,000 when the bank set out to auction the Eastleigh land.

Mrs. Muiruri had enough of it and challenged the legality of these demands terming them as “robbery”. The bank on the other hand insisted that it had the right to unilaterally increase the charges.

Initially, the High Court agreed with the bank but when the widow appealed, the Court of Appeal nailed the bank.

“It is our view that the discretion cannot be  exercised willy nilly to charge exorbitant interests,” a three judge bench of Justices Philip Waki, Mohamed Warsame and Gatembu Kairu ruled.

The Court objected to the bank's conduct of not giving notice to the widow, not seeking approval of the raises saying it was not in good faith. The explanation offered too, was hollow.

“Courts have never been shy to interfere with or refuse to enforce contracts which are unconscionable, unfair or oppressive due to a procedural abuse,” the Court ruled.

So astronomical were the demands that Mrs Muiruri’s act of selling one of her Thika properties to offset the amount ended up being a drop in the ocean.

“One may indeed surmise that the appellant was enslaved by such interest rate,” the three judges ruled.