Couple loses claim to Somalia embassy land

The Somalia government can now reclaim its embassy premises in Nairobi after the appellate court upheld the High Court decision to revoke the fraudulent sale of the property.
Lady Justices Wanjiru Karanja, Philomena Mwilu and Agnes Murgor said the controversial sale of the official Somali ambassador’s residence 18 years ago was fraudulent.

And at the stroke of a pen, the judges restored the property ownership to the country.

“We are satisfied that the High Court judge cannot be faulted. We have no basis interfering with his judgement which we find sound and properly predicated on the law and facts,” said the appellate judges.

The 2.26-acre parcel of land and the buildings at the junction of Brookside Drive and Lower Kabete Road was sold to Suleiman Rahemtulla and Zarina Suleiman in 1995 by former Somali ambassador to Kenya Ahmed Sheikh Mohamud for Sh15 million.  

The seven-bedroom house and land in the upmarket Spring Valley area is estimated to be worth more than Sh500 million. 

The Somali government acquired the property from businessmen Herbans Singh and Kamal Prakash in 1972. 

After the sale, former embassy officials Musa Hersi Fahiye, Muhammed Omar, and the Republic of Somalia moved to the High Court to challenge the sale on grounds that the diplomat had no authority to sell it. They told Justice Mbogholi Msagha that after president Siad Barre was deposed in 1991, Somalia was left with no functional government organ capable of committing the state in any biding transaction. 

They further argued the property was protected under the Vienna convention and could not have been sold until normalcy returned to the country. 

SUITABLE BUYER

Evidence adduced in court indicated that Mr Muhamud instructed an estate agent Jokim Enterprises to look for a suitable buyer. The agent settled on Suleiman and his wife, who were then given possession of the premises but a court injunction restrained them moving into the house.  After pocketing the proceeds, the former envoy left Nairobi and was given asylum in the UK. 

On December 7, 2010, Justice Msagha revoked the sale. The judge noted that in 1994, the Kenyan government had no diplomatic relations with Somalia and therefore did not recognise the existence of the embassy or an ambassador. 

However, the judge said since there was evidence that Sh10.3 million was paid to the embassy, the funds should be refunded to the couple plus Sh600,000 paid as stamp duty. 

On their part, the couple through lawyer Mohammed Nyaoga argued in the Court of Appeal that Mr Muhamud had the power and authority to enter into the transaction. The appellate judges disagreed. 

“No government would ask its ambassador to sell its property in a foreign country without knowledge of the host nation,” they said.