Lawyer Cecil Miller, representing Nyanja Holdings Limited, has blocked the execution of a Court of Appeal judgement that threatened his client’s possession of a prime 24.5-acre Karen property valued at Ksh 295.5 million. In orders issued on May 28, 2026, the Supreme Court froze all lower court decrees and ordered the status quo preserved until the apex court fully hears and determines the multi-million shilling dispute.
The five-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice Martha Koome, Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu, and Justices Smokin Wanjala, Isaac Lenaola, and William Ouko, has now referred the file to the Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court for case management directions.
The application, filed by Cecil Miller under a certificate of urgency on May 18, 2026, argued that Nyanja Holdings Limited faced an imminent risk of losing total control of the disputed estate before their main appeal could be heard.
The Supreme Court agreed that an immediate intervention was necessary to prevent irreversible actions on the ground. The freeze puts a complete stop to the enforcement of the January 30, 2026, Court of Appeal judgement and a subsequent May 8 ruling.
Inside the Ksh 295M Fraud and Interest Rate Claims
Court documents reveal that the legal battle stems from a credit facility secured back in 1988 using the Karen land.
According to filings submitted by Cecil Miller, the original loan taken by Nyanja Holdings Limited was roughly Ksh 8 million. This debt was later tied to other properties, growing into a broader facility of about Ksh 11 million.
The petitioners state that they ultimately paid back approximately Ksh 54 million to the lender but allege that the bank levied interest rates ranging from 20 per cent to an astronomical 75 per cent per annum.
The core of the dispute centres on the controversial disposal of the land:
The Private Sale: The 24.5-acre property was sold via a private treaty to Redmars Holdings Limited for Ksh 60 million in 2007.
The Valuation Gap: Valuation reports from that exact period placed the true market value of the property at Ksh 295.5 million.
The Allegations: The petitioners accuse the lender and the buyers of fraud, oppression, and conspiracy, arguing that the private treaty was deliberately engineered to bypass a competitive public auction.
The High Court initially ruled on the matter on May 5, 2020, triggering a wave of consolidated appeals (Civil Appeal No. 224 of 2020, E166, and 174 of 2021) that led to the January 2026 Appeal Court decision.
With the Supreme Court now stepping in to protect the interests of Nyanja Holdings Limited, the status of the multi-million shilling land remains locked. The case now awaits a mention date before the Supreme Court registrar to schedule the final, definitive hearing.
