Africa-Press – Kenya. Uchumi director and CEO Lawrence Ngao is entangled in a court case where he is accused of stealing a chimney extractor fan valued at Sh135 000, the property of Hotspot Coffee Lounge Limited.
This, as the proprietor of the outlet, Maalim Hassan, also seeks justice over attempts to evict him from the 6,500-square-feet rented space on the ground floor of Uchumi’s Langata Hyper Branch off Langata Road, where he has operated a coffee restaurant since July 2023, when he secured his first lease agreement with the retailer.
The charge sheet states that Lawrence Musyimi Ngao, jointly with others who were not before court, conspired together to commit a felony namely stealing of a chimney extractor fan, with the charge being conspiracy to commit a felony contrary to section 393 of the penal code.
This was on April 17, 2025 at Uchumi Hypermarket in Langata Sub-County within Nairobi County.
The second count was stealing contrary to section 268(1) as read with section 275 of the penal code where on the same date and place, Ngao jointly with others not before court, allegedly stole a chimney extractor fan valued at Sh135,000, the property of Hotspot Coffee Lounge Limited.
He denied the charges when he appeared in court on Monday and was released on a cash bail of Sh50 000.Pre-trial date is scheduled for November 27.
Another tenant, Dominic Mwangi, is also seeking Sh4.5 million in compensation, claiming he was unlawfully ejected from Lang’ata Hyper branch to make way for China Square.
Mwangi, who operated a liquor store under Grand Liquor Suppliers and Esteem Gas Supplies, alleged that Uchumi violated a court order issued on May 8, which barred the supermarket from leasing out the premises pending the hearing of his eviction case.
“The defendant acted contrary to the court order by letting out the premises to a third party,” reads the lawsuit filed by Mwangi, who sought redress for his removal from the 100,000 square feet space.
According to court documents, China Square, a household goods store, took over the Lang’ata Hyper branch from Uchumi and invested Sh600 million to capitalise on the strategic location along the busy Lang’ata road complex.
Hassan’s trouble with Uchumi on the other hand begun in June 2023 when his initial six-year lease expired. The two agreed on a renewal and he proceeded with operations, paying dues to the retailer.
However, in December same year, he was given a three days’ notice to vacate. He was later slapped with more than Sh12 million in rent arrears, which he claims are fictitious.
He secured court orders stopping Uchumi from auctioning or evicting him.
“He has been frustrating me withy utilities like water and electricity,” Hassan said.
“…An order of injunction is hereby issued restraining the defendants whether by themselves, their servants, agents, chief executive officer, subsidiaries, tenants, agents, licensees or any one acting on their instructions from reorganiSing, restructuring, forcefully removing, evicting or relocating the plaintiff and their business or in any way interfering with the plaintiff’s quiet possession of all that designated business premises comprising 6,500 square feet on the ground floor of Langata Hyper Branch of Uchumi off Langata Road pending inter partes hearing of this application,” the order reads in part.
The court cases come as Uchumi continues to seek financial stability, with its collapse linked to a combination of poor management, financial mismanagement and an overly ambitious expansion strategy that led to massive debt, cash-flow problems and a lack of profitable returns from new branches.
It has been keen on selling its land to settle debt and push for recovery. In May this year, it was dealt a blow after losing a court battle over a long-running land ownership dispute with the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), with the High Court allowing the military to take over a 17-acre prime parcel of land in Kasarani.
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