New details have emerged on the demolition of the Ksh80 million posh Nairobi mansion belonging to Niraj Shah and his wife Avani Shah.
Reports indicated that the auctioneer who effected the eviction and subsequent demolition of the mansion ignored court orders.
The auctioneer, who was presented before High Court judge Oscar Angote on Wednesday, November 9, argued that the initial court order issued by a lower court was misinterpreted.
Through his lawyer, he presented an order dated October 18, 2022, that left out the details which indicated that the restraining orders should not be interpreted as an eviction order against the Shah’s.
On the other hand, the prosecution sought the auctioneer to be detained for 14 days to allow for investigations to be concluded.
They also sought investigators to access the demolished Westlands property so as to assess the damage and come up with a list of items allegedly stolen from the house during the demolition.
The auctioneer’s lawyer, however, opposed the prosecutor’s application, claiming that his client was not a flight risk and would not interfere with the investigations.
The High Court judge ruled that the auctioneer and the lawyer ought to swear affidavits that explained circumstances that led to the wrongful implementation of an order. He sought to find out whether the court order was altered, forged, or misinterpreted.
“They should swear affidavits explaining the circumstances under which they carried out the eviction and demolition of the house notwithstanding the express orders of the lower court which provided that the orders should not be interpreted to mean the eviction of the respondent,” Justice Angote ruled.
The judge affirmed that the case would be determined on Monday, November 14.
The Shah family had claimed that they had occupied the home for over 46 years and refuted claims that the property belonged to a private developer.
“We have tried to call all the police officers in the nearby branches, some did not come and those that came did not help us,” Avani Shah stated.
