A Sacco has put its building in Nairobi Central Business District on sale after winning an 11-year-old court battle with its members.
The Ufundi Co-op Plaza that belongs to Ufundi Co-operative Sacco is a 13-storeyed building standing along Nairobi’s Moi Avenue and Moktar Daddah street.
In a newspaper advertisement, the Sacco invited bidders for the iconic building.
The planned sale comes a month after a three-judge bench of the Environment and Land Court allowed the Sacco to dispose of the property and share the proceeds on a 50.9 and 49.1 per cent basis for the Sacco and members who contributed money for the purchase of the building years ago, respectively.
In a decision on December 20, Justices Elijah Obaga, Kossy Bor and Benard Eboso ruled that the building was co-owned by the Sacco and the members who invested to acquire it, some of whom had already left the co-operative.
The court noted that the 15,000 members contributed a total of Sh8.4 million, while the Sacco paid Sh8.7 million and the rest was raised through a loan from Co-operative Bank but which was repaid through rental income.
The judges had also ordered that part of the proceeds should be used to clear a loan of Sh254 million owed to Co-op Bank and the rent collected from the building should be released to the lender to redeem the title used as security for the loan.
The dispute between the investors and the Sacco started in 2010 before the Co-operative tribunal when the building was valued at Sh2 billion. The 14,999 members had successfully sought to be declared the rightful owners and the Sacco had no rights.
It was their plan for the building to be transferred to an independent entity comprising of the rightful shareholders or members of the investment venture but the decision of the tribunal was reversed by the Environment Court, following an appeal by the Sacco.
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