High Court halts Wiper Party asset auction over Sh698,000 debt
Justice Chacha Mwita quashed the warrants of attachment and sale issued to the political party by auctioneers instructed by Adan seeking recovery of a sum of Sh698,816 in legal fees.
Wiper Democratic Party has got a reprieve after the High Court quashed their intended auction of assets over an alleged debt of Sh698,000 owed to a Nairobi County ward representative aspirant, which was to be paid as a legal fee.
In a ruling delivered by Justice Chacha Mwita, the court found that the party was wrongly billed by the aspirant, Mohamed Adan, following a legal dispute relating to the political outfit's ticket for the Kwa Njenga ward seat during the 2022 elections.
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Justice Mwita quashed the warrants of attachment and sale issued to the political party by auctioneers instructed by Mohamed seeking the recovery of a sum of Sh698,816 in legal fees.
"There was no basis for directing warrants of attachment and sale to the Wiper Party's property since the judgment did not condemn the applicant to pay costs. The bill of costs was not against the applicant, an interested party in the appeal. The certificate of taxation did not state that it was issued against the applicant who had only been named throughout the appeal and subsequent pleadings as an interested party," Justice Mwita ruled.
The judge said there was no court order for payment of costs directed at the political party to justify execution against its property.
The court further noted that any execution against the political party was not based on any law, court order or justifiable cause.
Wiper had made an application for revocation of the intended auction in August 2024, saying the move was irregular.
The dispute, which began at the political parties tribunal before moving to the High Court, was between Mohamed and Marcos Kithuku, and it involved the nomination of the party's candidate in the 2022 Ward representative elections.
Wiper was an interested party in the dispute, which, upon conclusion in June 2022, Kithuku was ordered by the court's deputy registrar to pay the costs of the proceedings.
Wiper, through its secretary-general Shakila Abdalla, told the court that the intended attachment of its property was based on an error and was also incorrect, illegal, unprocedural and unlawful.
"The bill of costs was taxed against the appellant (Kithuku), who was the judgment debtor, being the appellant whose appeal was struck out in the judgment of July 8, 2022.
Further, that the Deputy Registrar's decision dated September 26, 2023 (allowing the bill of costs) was also against the appellant," said Abdalla.
She said Wiper Party was surprised to be served with the warrants of attachment and sale of its property by an auctioneer named Betabase Auctioneers, instructed by Mohamed.
She stated that no liability had been apportioned on Wiper, and hence, Mohamed had no justifiable reason to instruct an auctioneer to attach its property as an interested party in the appeal.
Adan, in opposing the application, told the court that he was entitled to recover the costs and had begun the process of execution by issuing the warrants of attachments and sale against both the Wiper Party and Kithuku, the judgment debtor.
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