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Housing Finance is challenging a Court of Appeal ruling that has awarded a Nairobi family Sh1.2 billion compensation after two of the three judges ruled that the mortgage lender had breached the law by selling the family’s home in Runda. The court on Friday directed the listed company to pay damages of Sh20.4 million - which was the principal sum in dispute - to the couple. The money is to be paid together with an annual compounded interest rate of 26 percent since the year 2000 when the case was first filed in court. This pushed the penalty to Sh1.2 billion. However, Housing Finance is asking for a stay of execution of the ruling until its appeal in the Supreme Court is heard and determined. The Court of Appeal upheld an earlier ruling by Justice Joyce Khaminwa, which had found that the sale of the house belonging Sharok Kher Mohamed Ali Hirji was illegal. The ruling said the payment should be compounded at an interest rate of 26 percent. Housing Finance has protested against the compounded interest, arguing that it will be forced to pay an amount higher than the value of the property in contention. “By any stretch of imagination, this is harsh, unconscionable and oppressive. It also amounts to unjust enrichment and therefore goes against public policy,” the mortgage lender said yesterday in a notice announcing its intention to block the award at the Supreme Court. |
