Judiciary yet to pay Sh1bn to contractors six years later

Judiciary Registrar Anne Amadi. FILE PHOTO | NMG

The Judiciary owes Sh1 billion to various contractors who won cases against it but have remained unpaid for the past six years.

The bulk of the unpaid court awards is owed to construction company NK Brothers which is demanding Sh545.6 million after winning the case in May 2018.

On its part, Land Mark Holdings is owed Sh355.32 million, which was awarded by the courts in March 2019.

Riley Security Services is yet to be paid Sh52.8 million that was awarded to it in 2017. The Judiciary also owes Jubilee Insurance Company Sh121.9 million following a judgment delivered on January 20, 2021.

“The reason for non-payment is attributable to inadequate funding,” Anne Amadi, the Judiciary Registrar says in documents submitted to Parliament.

Ms Amadi did not disclose the nature of the cases involving the Judiciary and NK Brothers, Land Mark Holdings, Riley Security Services and Jubilee Insurance.

But a search shows that NK Brothers and Land Mark Holdings Limited are both building and general contractors’ construction companies while Riley Security Services and Jubilee Insurance are security and insurance firms respectively.

Read: Rival security firms hit back over Judiciary deal

NK Brothers Limited sued the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary for Sh532 million after the cancellation of a deal in which it was to convert the Income Tax House into the current Milimani Law Courts in Upper Hill, Nairobi.

The Judiciary picked NK Brothers to refurbish the High Court building in Nairobi but later terminated the contract without settling payments for works done.

The Judiciary and NK Brothers Limited signed a contract to begin work in October 2004.

A dispute arose in November 2016 and the matter was referred to Onesmus Mwangi Gichuiri for arbitration.

Both parties wanted the matter settled out of court and entered into talks to agree on compensation.

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