Woman Sues Lawyer, Buyer Over Sh45 Million Nairobi House Transfer

Monica Jackline Wambui has sued her former advocate and the woman who later bought her Nairobi property, reviving a 17-year legal battle over a house on Dennis Pritt Road. She wants the transfer of the property cancelled.

The suit, filed in the Environment and Land Court, names advocate Chege Wainaina, property purchaser Lucy Wairimu Mwangi, and the Chief Land Registrar as defendants. It seeks to reverse ownership of House No 6, Casablanca Villas, a property investigators value at about Sh45 million.

Wambui alleges Wainaina exploited her mental illness to fraudulently transfer the property while she was hospitalised. She says she retained him in 2005 to handle her divorce proceedings after returning to Kenya from abroad, having bought the house in 2002.

She claims she handed over original title documents, her passport, her late daughter's passport, her national identity card, marriage certificate and bank statements, believing they were needed to prepare her matrimonial property case. Her health deteriorated during this period, and she was admitted to Nairobi Hospital for treatment.

According to her witness statement, the title was later redeemed from I&M Bank without her authorisation. She alleges Wainaina had himself appointed under a power of attorney, transferred the property, and facilitated its sale to Mwangi.

A forensic review, she says, uncovered irregularities in the transaction documents. She describes the signatures on the 2009 letters of instruction and sale agreement as crude forgeries that do not match her known signature.

Wambui also disputes that any payment changed hands. Although the defendants maintain more than Sh12 million was paid as consideration, she says a review of her bank statements from the period shows not a single cent was received.

The suit further alleges that conveyancing documents were smuggled into a psychiatric hospital, where her signature was obtained while she was unfit to understand or legally consent to the transaction. These allegations have not yet been determined by the court.

Wainaina and Mwangi have rejected the claims. Mwangi says she lawfully purchased the property in 2009 and obtained a valid title, and argues the ownership question was already settled through earlier court proceedings.

She contends the fresh suit is barred by res judicata, since the dispute was previously determined by the High Court and the Court of Appeal. She also says Wambui has resisted eviction since 2020 while continuing to occupy the property and collect rental income from it.

The defendants have filed a preliminary objection asking the court to strike out the case on jurisdictional grounds, arguing that a judgment delivered on May 18, 2020 was never appealed and remains final.

The dispute has also moved into the criminal courts. A draft charge sheet proposes conspiracy to defraud, forgery and related charges against Wainaina and Mwangi over the property transfer, lodged before a Chief Magistrate in Milimani.

Wainaina and Mwangi have separately filed a High Court case seeking to quash the intended prosecution, arguing the matter has already been conclusively resolved through the earlier civil proceedings. They have obtained interim orders as that case proceeds.

In the Environment and Land Court, the judge has certified Wambui's application as urgent and directed the defendants to file their responses. Both the civil and criminal proceedings remain pending.