Equity Bank has denied it tried to block judge GBM Kariuki from buying a house at Lower Kabete in Nairobi.Purity Kinyanjui, a manager at Risk Recovery department, denied that the bank lied before the judges vetting board about the house sale dispute.

Led by Equity Bank lawyer Cecil Miller, Kinyanjui told the court that Kariuki did not put effort into buying the house within the agreed period after entering into a sale agreement.

Kariuki has accused Equity Bank of breach of contract and lying to the vetting board about the dispute.Kinyanjui however told the court that the bank was not involved in the sale of the property but only gave its consent.

She said the bank wrote to the judge to inform him that they had accepted his offer to buy the house.The bank through Miller argued that Kariuki expressed interest in the house just like other buyers.

Kariuki in his testimony has accused the bank of withholding its account details from his lawyers."We were wondering why it was so difficult for them. On the one hand they put up a property for sale and on the other, they made it difficult for us to complete the process by failing to furnish the account details," he said.

Kariuki said he visited the house on May 18, 2011 with a bank official and a friend and the owner Maina Mwangi was happy with his offer of Sh65 million.

He later instructed his lawyers at Ndungu, Njoroge and Kwach to facilitate the 10 per cent payment to Equity because he wanted the house urgently.

The bank would however not give their account details even though he was supposed to pay by May 21, 2011.Kariuki was later told the property had been sold to another man for Sh67 million.

The cheques he had drawn in favour of the bank were later deposited in a joint interest earning account after a court order.Kariuki said two bank officials alleged he intimidated them and threatened to use his connection in the media to embarrass the institution.

Justice Jonathan Havelock postponed the case till March 21, for the judge's lawyer to complete cross-examining Kinyanjui.