Nairobi — A Nairobi businessman has moved to the High Court seeking orders to stop his landlord and auctioneers from seizing his property over what he describes as disputed rent arrears.

John Kunyiha, the Managing Director of his company, says the dispute stems from a lease agreement signed in 2022 for premises located in Nairobi's Central Business District (CBD).

According to court documents, the landlord offered Kunyiha a lease on October 28, 2022, requiring a monthly rent of Sh170,000 inclusive of VAT and a goodwill payment of Sh2.5 million.

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Kunyiha stated that he accepted the offer on November 4, 2022, and has since been making rent payments consistently through bank transfers and M-PESA to the landlord's director.

However, the businessman claims the landlord has overcharged him and is now demanding Sh749,600 in alleged rent arrears, along with Sh75,000 in auctioneer fees.

"The alleged rent arrears are baseless. In fact, I have overpaid and am owed a total of Ksh1,274,845," Kunyiha states in his affidavit filed in court.

He further told the court that the landlord allegedly ignored earlier court directions requiring the parties to first pursue mediation before taking enforcement action.

Through a notice of motion, Kunyiha is asking the High Court to certify the application as urgent and hear it ex-parte and cite the landlord for contempt of court for disregarding mediation orders.

He is also seekging an interim injunction restraining the landlord, auctioneers, and their agents from seizing or selling property at the premises

He also wants the court to maintain the status quo until the dispute is fully determined and to award him the costs of the application.

However, the court declined to certify the matter as urgent and directed that the case be heard inter partes on March 12, 2026.

The case now awaits full hearing as the dispute over the alleged rent arrears continues.