Al Yusra wants church to pay Sh88m in restaurant lease row

A Nairobi restaurant is seeking more than Sh88 million as compensation from Catholic bishops for stopping a six-year business deal to rent space at Waumini House in Westlands, Nairobi.

Al Yusra Restaurant Limited wants the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops and Knight Frank Kenya Limited to pay Sh88,472,782.22 for ejecting them from its business premises.

Al Yusra says their premises were locked and their access to the ground floor of the building was denied.

The building, which is the headquarters of the Kenya Catholic Bishops Secretariat, is owned and managed by the Catholic Church in Kenya.

The restaurant claims the bishops explained, as the basis of their actions, that they could not accept a business owned and operated by Somali Muslims on its property.

Al Yusra argues that the reason given is discriminatory.

CONSTITUTION 'VIOLATED'

Besides the compensation, the restaurant also wants the bishops to be stopped from interfering with their business, trespassing and evicting them by blocking their rights to possess a business premise as well as access to it.

“This is a great violation of the Constitution by the Catholic Bishops, who should be at the forefront of preaching unity and religious tolerance, which calls for urgent intervention by this court, we have been locked out on the basis that the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops cannot accept to have a business owned and operated by Somali Muslims on its property, despite a lease signed and rent paid,” said Mr Rahma Jillo for Al Yusra.

According to Mr Baakai Maalim Kulmia, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops — through two of their agents, one of whom was Knight Frank — offered Al Yusra 2,153 square feet of space for a term of six years starting on December 1, 2013, and rent was to be paid as from February 1.

VIABLE BUSINESS

Mr Kulmia claims that prior to the offer, Knight Frank had asked for a letter to confirm that Al Yusra was operating a viable business and would be able to meet its obligations to the landlord.

He claims that Sh2,055,457.20 was paid to Knight Frank through the Kenya Episcopal Conference Account when they accepted the offer on December 3, 2013.

He also claims that the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, through Knight Frank, handed over the premises for partitioning, renovations, refurbishments, and installation of necessary fittings and fixtures for a restaurant business in a January 23 e-mail by Margaret Mitiri, the commercial portfolio manager.

All the necessary refurbishing was completed by the end of March at a cost of Sh17,953,325 and the restaurant was to opened on April 1.

However, a financial consultant, Al Yusra claims, had computed that the projected loss and profit for the deal would be Sh68,464,000.

Al Yusra further alleges that it was the bishops who had proposed the valuation of the cost of refurbishment and fittings by an independent surveyor as well as valuation of loss on the deal.

AUTHORISED LETTING

Mr Alex Kamau of Obra International, in an e-mail dated May 12 at 13:17 hours, priced the refurbishment works, equipment and furniture by Al Yusra at Sh17,953,325.

The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops has allegedly declined to compensate them for the required repudiation as per the agreement lease of May 28.

The bishops allegedly want possession of a vacant property, and that no one consented to or authorised letting out the premises for a restaurant.

Al Yusra, which wants a rent and deposit refund of Sh2,055,457.20, also claims that Cardinal John Njue, Rev Vincent Wambugu and Rev Antony Muheria were present in a meeting to discuss the deal and the bishops had expressed reservations about operating a restaurant at Waumini House.

High Court judge Isaac Lenaola on Monday asked the bishops and Knight Frank to respond to the case within 21 days. The case will be heard on August 5