KPLC to pay businessman Sh500 million for damage caused by Nakumatt Downtown fire
The fire tragedy which claimed at least 30 people was caused by electricity fault.
The high court has ordered the Kenya Power and Lightning Company (KPLC) pay Sh500 million to the owner of the building that housed the "Nakumatt Downtown" in Nairobi before it was destroyed by fire in 2009.
The KPLC will pay Sh416 million to Chandrakant Jastbai Patel who owns the Woolworths House for loss of rent together with interest from February 1, 2009 following the destruction of his commercial house.
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The fire tragedy which claimed at least 30 people was caused by electricity fault due to KPLC's poor workmanship during an installation of a transformer.
And the state owned electricity vendor will compensate the owner of the building for the loss.
In the judgement issued by Lady Justice Josephine Mongare, the KPLC will pay Patel additional Sh7,475,475 for loss of the land rent and rates together with interest accrued for the period the building has been unoccupied.
The businessman will pocket Sh58,570,000 as the amount they require to reinstate the building to its status as it was before inferno.
KPLC will pay Patel Sh4,030,532 for the cost of demolition and re-improvement of public areas together with interest accrued from June 24, 2009.
The other amounts are for damages, carting away the debris from the scene and quantity survey services, legal fees incurred during the period of more than 10 years the case has been in court among others.
Patel had sued KPLC and the collapsed top retailer Nakumatt Kenya Limited together with its CEO Atul Shah in the suit.
However, Nakumatt and its management proved that they were not responsible for the inferno that destroyed the building as it was not as a result of their negligence, breach of contract or their statutory duty as the tenant. They had occupied the house since 2007.
KPLC had argued that the fire was wholly caused by or materially contributed by Patel and his tenant's negligence.
Patel testified that Concord Insurance Company Limited refused to honour their fire policy and refused to compensate him for the damages caused on his property by the fire.
The fire had the consequence of terminating the lease agreement between Patel and Nakumatt Limited which was to run up to May 31, 2015 when the retailer stopped paying rent.
The supermarket stopped paying rent on February 1, 2009 and Patel has not been collecting rent since.
The supermarket had an obligation to pay land rent of Sh415,465 per year and rates at Sh 652,460 year to the Nairobi City Council in respect of the land, however as a result of the fire the company stopped paying the said rates forcing Patel to pay for the same for the years 2009, 2010 and 2011.
KPLC staffer Ngei Ntabo who is a technician had testified that the company did not cause the fire because if its installation was faulty, the fire would have also consumed Nation Centre and the adjacent buildings which was not the case.
Justice Mong'are pointed out a discrepancy in Ntambo's evidence with that of his colleague who also testified in the matter.
"The contradiction between the evidence of (the KPLC technicians) leaves nothing to be desired. One thing is constant, the fire at the suit property broke out immediately after power was reconnected," she stated.
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