• Market launched in 2021; Kwale fired the contractor over claims of shoddy work, abandonment and incompletion.
• Contractor in December 2021 sued, forcing closure over pending payments and re-tendering. Contractor fired.
Image: SHABAN OMAR
For the fourth time on Friday, the Court of Appeal deferred judgment on opening of the Sh120 million Kombani Market in Kwale county.
The verdict was first to be delivered on December 8 last year, but it was deferred to February 8 this year, then February 23 and then March 8.
“I have been directed to inform you the judgment on this appeal that was to be delivered on February 23, 2024, has been deferred to March 8, 2024,” the Court of Appeal said.
The contractor, End to End Limited, had sued to stop the Kwale county government from conducting any activity at Kombani market until the contractor’s suit filed against the county was heard and determined.
The market was launched by former Kwale Governor Salim Mvurya, former Devolution Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter and former Land Chief Administrative Secretary Gideon Mung'aro in 2021.
However, End to End Limited said they were seeking Sh44 million in arrears from a total of Sh106 million they used for constructing the market.
After months of court battles, Kwale Governor Fatuma Achani re-opened the market on October 10, 2022.
During the re-opening, at least 16 people were injured after hired goons attacked 22 private security guards employed by the contractor to stop county officials from accessing the market.
Three days later, on October 13, End-to-End Limited moved to the High Court in Mombasa, seeking further orders to bar the Kwale government from conducting operations at the market.
In her ruling on October 25, Mombasa High Court judge Njoki Mwangi ordered, "For the avoidance of doubt, there shall be no opening, no launching, no entry into the premises of the market in issue by the respondents or anyone acting on their instructions.”
The Kwale government, on December 2, 2022, moved to the Court of Appeal seeking orders to overturn the decision of the High Court.
The matter dragged on in court for one year, and the judgment was set for December 8, 2023.
Since then, End to End has received four communications from the Office of the Deputy Registrar of the Court of Appeal, deferring the judgment.
Almost three years after the completion of the Kombani Fresh Produce Wholesale Market, the facility has remained closed due to the ongoing court battles.
The market was expected to be in full operation by December 2021 to ease market access for local traders and fresh produce sellers.
More than 6,000 farmers and over 1,000 traders bet their livelihoods on the market, which is strategically located.
The market is near the junction of the Mombasa-Lunga-Lunga-Tanzania and Kwale-Kinango highways in Matuga. It is an ideal place for traders from Tanzania, Kwale, and Mombasa to conduct business because of good, well-connected roads.