arbitration / adr news
Court orders Cytonn pay investor Sh2m in arbitration Award 11January 2023
The High Court of Kenya has ordered Cytonn Investments Management Plc to pay an arbitral award of more than Sh2 million. In dismissing the application by Cytonn to pay Esther Wangui in instalments the court stated that the company did not show why the amount could not be paid in full. “In my view, a judgment debtor is entitled to payment of the decretal amount forthwith and in accordance with the law of his judgment without much delay otherwise the labour of long and winded litigation might have been without basis,” said Justice Alfred Mabeya in his ruling. In December 2021, Ms Wangui won an award of Sh2,057,363 against Cytonn. In response, the firm lodged an application to the court last September, seeking leave to pay the award in monthly instalments of Sh100,000. The Cytonn claimed that due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was not in a position to pay the money in full but could do so in monthly instalments. As part of its show of good faith, the company claimed that it sent a letter to Ms Wangui’s advocates seeking to pay the money in instalments of Sh200,000. In rejecting Cytonn’s application the judge said the company did not make any attempt to pay any substantial amount of the Sh2 million or proven to the court how the Covid-19 pandemic affected its business. Further, Justice Mabeya said Cytonn did not show its inability to pay the decreed amount as it only produced two pages of a bank statement, which did not indicate whether it was one or two different account numbers. “All that they showed was that the available balance was Sh137,241. With the greatest respect, this is an extreme lack of candour and bona fides on the part of the applicant,” said the court. Upon establishing that Cytonn did not seek the application in good faith, the court dismissed it and ordered that Ms Wangui should be paid her arbitral award without further delay Source: Business Daily |
