Mombasa, KENYA: Nakummat supermarket was on Wednesday morning evicted from City Mall in Mombasa over rent arrears totaling to sh. 27.8 million.
Armed policemen were seen on the site as all the commodities inside the supermarket were being removed by auctioneers from the premises and being taken to the parking lot.
This comes after the High court in Mombasa on Tuesday ordered the troubled chain of supermarkets to immediately vacate City Mall due to rent arrears not paid to the owners of the mall, Ideal Location Limited.
Justice Charles Yano directed Nakummat Holdings the parent company of the supermarket chain, to pay all outstanding balances and any payments accrued to the landlord at the date of vacating the business premises.
In January, Nakumatt Holdings Ltd, wanted the case to be dismissed saying that Ideal Locations Ltd, the landlord, filed the case in the “wrong court”.
Nakumatt Lawyer Lawrence Ng’ang’a, said the Environment and Land Court does not have jurisdiction to preside over a matter relating to commercial and contractual issues.
However, in his ruling, Justice Yano said Nakumat Holdings failed to defend themselves from the allegations levied by their landlord and instead focused on the jurisdiction of the court hearing the matter.
He added that since the supermarket had not contested the allegations, then the motion by the landlord was merited and therefore, allowed.
Last year, the retailer shut close to a dozen branches that includes the Bamburi branch which has since been taken over by Naivas, Westgate branch, Junction Mall, Thika Road Mall, NextGen Mall and Haile Selassie branch that was located at the Kenyatta University Plaza and Ronald Ngala branch.
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