Moses Kuria. Photo | courtesy.
The auction of former Trade CS Moses Kuria’s Sh100 million property has hit a legal snag after his wife challenged the sale, citing lack of spousal consent.
Joyce Njambi Gathungu moved to court seeking to block the sale of two properties in Ruaka and Juja, arguing they are matrimonial assets used as loan collateral without her knowledge or approval.
A Ruaka apartment block had already been sold on April 8 for Sh62 million, while the Juja property was set to go under the hammer before the court intervened.
Justice Jacqueline Mogeni has now halted the transfer of the Ruaka property and suspended the Juja auction pending a hearing on April 30 to determine whether Gathungu has proprietary interest.
Equity Bank is pursuing recovery of a Sh54 million loan, but now faces familiar legal hurdles over spousal rights. In recent years, Kenyan banks have seen similar auctions overturned due to lack of consent from co-owners.
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Gathungu claims she was excluded from loan negotiations and denied access to repayment records despite offering to help clear the debt.
Kuria, whose earlier bid to stop the auction failed, had cited COVID-19-related losses and medical bills as reasons for the loan default. He had banked on a real estate venture to rebound financially, but the project stalled.
Should the court rule in favour of Gathungu, the Ruaka buyer could lose the property highlighting ongoing risks in Kenya’s property financing sector.
Kenya’s matrimonial property laws have in recent years tightened around joint ownership, making spousal consent mandatory when dealing with family property. The courts have consistently voided transactions where one spouse acted unilaterally.
