Sunset Boulevard homeowners protest auction notice

Homeowners at Sunset Boulevard estate in Athi River have protested against intended evictions by an auctioneering firm.

The auctioneers on Monday advertised for auction of houses worth about Sh2 billion, putting buyers at risk of losing their investment over a loan they were not a party to.

They accused I&M Bank of being in contempt of court by engaging Leaky’s Auctioneers to dispose of their houses.

Out of the 396 units, 204 are set to be sold out through auction at the end of this month.

The victims said that all the houses marked for auctioning were bought in cash through Ogola Okello & Company Advocates, while those who acquired their units through mortgage are not affected.

“I bought my two-bedroom unit in 2013 in cash. The developer told me that all payments were to be made through Ogola Okello & Company Advocates,” a liaison committee official told the Star.

The official blamed their predicament on the lawyer whom he said promised them lease documents to the houses but has never provided them.

The houses include one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom flats which sell at Sh2 million, Sh3.8 million and 4.5 million respectively.

The affected homeowners have instructed their lawyer, Rachier & Amollo Advocates to move to court and file a contempt of court case against the bank and Leaky’s Auctioneers.

Through  J. Okoma Arwa the law firm has written to I&M Bank and the auctioneers asking to “to establish the exact position and therefore advice on our next course of action”. 

Ogola Okello & Company Advocates also wrote to I&M Bank’s lawyer in protest of the intended auctioning of the units.

The firm demanded an advert cancelling the auction notice failure to which they will sue for contempt of court.  

The victims said that this is the third time the bank has made a public notice to auction their houses in a newspaper.

(edited by O. Owino)