Manager in court over Sh18m rent arrears by NPSC
Bedan Mwangi Nduati in court on August 21, 2014, charged with two counts of depriving the National Police Service Commission the services of a lift and fire exits at Skypark Plaza in Westlands, Nairobi. PHOTO | PAUL WAWERU | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- National Police Service Commission's offices locked up over rent and service-charge arrears amounting to Sh18 million
A property manager who locked up the National Police Service Commission's offices over rent and service-charge arrears amounting to Sh18 million has lodged a preliminary objection against his prosecution after he was charged with being a public nuisance.
Mr Bedan Mwangi Nduati, through his lawyer, Mr Chege Njoroge, told a Nairobi court on Thursday he believes his prosecution is “malicious and was being pursued with improper motives”.
The lawyer said Mr Nduati was being forced to face criminal charges against matters “purely commercial” and arising from a tenant-landlord fallout after the commission failed to pay up rent for the past three months.
UNDUE PRESSURE
“The landlord has been demanding his dues for a period of three months now and it is on account of his demands that the property manager withdrew services, but the tenant is now putting undue pressure on the police to file criminal charges,” he told acting Chief Magistrate Daniel Ochenja.
Mr Njoroge disputed the particulars of a second charge, which states that he deprived a tenant of services. The lawyer said this does not constitute a criminal offence but is a commercial dispute.
He submitted that the particulars of the charge sheet quote sections of the Rent Restriction Act, which, he said, is inapplicable in criminal litigation as it applies to commercial law.
“These criminal proceedings are being pursued maliciously with a view of achieving improper motives," the lawyer said.
