A minor has sued the Bank of Africa and his father to stop the sale of their house in Nairobi’s South B estate over an unpaid loan.
The boy who sued through his mother says if the bank is not stopped from selling the house to recover money owed, his right to shelter will be infringed.
The mother believes her son’s attachment to the family home does not have an ascertainable value which can be compensated in damages.
“Its intended sale will deprive them not only of shelter but of their family home, and as such there is likely to result irreparable harm if this application is not allowed. Should the sale of matrimonial home occur, the minor’s right to shelter protected under the Constitution of Kenya will have been infringed and the minors will be left homeless and destitute,” suit papers say.
The bank, she says, has remedies against her estranged husband which it can pursue.
She says she has always been willing to engage with the bank in coming up with a way to remedy her estranged husband’s default but she has been repeatedly told she is a stranger to the charge.
The two got married under Kamba customary law in 2002.
Sometimes in 2017 the couple separated due to what they described as irreconcilable differences and the man moved out of the matrimonial home.
A year later the man sued the woman seeking orders for access, care and control of their children.
On September 24, 2018 the man sought legal and actual custody of the minors.
However the court ruled in favour of the woman and further directed that she remains at their matrimonial home with the children.
During the marriage the man borrowed some money from bank and offered the house as collateral. It is not known how much money is involved because it is not indicated in suit papers.
The man had been paying the loan but defaulted after separation.
Consequently, the bank issued notice to the woman saying it will sell the house to recover its money which has now prompted the filing of the suit.
