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Credit Bank, a Nairobi lender partly owned by the family of the late politician and businessman Simeon Nyachae, has secured court approval to auction a parcel of land in the Upper Hill district to recover a loan of more than Ksh2 billion ($15.5 million). The property was once earmarked for a skyscraper that had been billed as Africa’s tallest building.
The Court of Appeal declined to halt the planned sale after One Upperhill Towers Ltd asked the judges to suspend the bank’s move. With the appeal dismissed, Credit Bank is now cleared to proceed with the auction. The dispute centers on the land’s foundation works, which began several years ago before financing problems stopped the project.
Court greenlights Credit Bank sale
This latest ruling follows a High Court decision issued on Feb. 24 that granted the lender the right to sell the property. Jabavu Village Ltd and Hasscon Pharmaceuticals Ltd—firms linked to the borrowing—had challenged Credit Bank’s attempt to enforce the loan, arguing the auction should remain on hold until the matter was fully resolved.
In 2023, Jabavu Village Ltd obtained an injunction that froze the sale. But on Jan. 27, High Court Judge Alfred Mabeya lifted that order, saying the bank was entitled to enforce its security. Days later, another judge issued a temporary pause, but that relief was short-lived. The court has now dismissed the borrowers’ latest applications. Justice Peter Mulwa ruled that the bank is free to exercise its statutory power of sale, saying the filings before him “must fail.”
Credit Bank faces auction scrutiny
Credit Bank, founded in 1986, is one of Kenya’s medium-sized lenders. As of June 30, 2024, it reported total assets of Ksh27.71 billion ($214.1 million) and shareholders’ funds of Ksh3.95 billion ($30.5 million). The bank has been working to stabilize its balance sheet, including a 2023 deal that brought in Shorecap III, LP as a 20 percent investor. The Nyachae family remains the largest shareholder, with a 27.1 percent stake through Sansora Group.
Grace Nyachae, widow of Simeon Nyachae and a key figure in the country’s financial services industry, is a founding director of Credit Bank. With an 11-year tenure in the Civil Service and a wealth of experience in business management, particularly within the agricultural sector, she has been at the forefront of the bank’s growth trajectory.
Even as Credit Bank moves ahead with the Upper Hill auction, it is facing scrutiny in a separate property dispute. The Court of Appeal recently blocked the transfer of another parcel that the bank bought at its own auction for Ksh1.125 billion ($8.7 million). The borrower in that case, Erdemann Property Ltd, argues the land’s market value was closer to Ksh2 billion ($15.47 million) and says the lender underpriced the asset.
