The circus that has been revolving around the Jeevanjee Affordable Housing project in Nairobi took a new twist with the National Bank, which has financed the project, now warning that it will auction the houses if the Sh1.9 billion loan is not settled.

While appearing before Nairobi County Assembly committee, Managing Director George Odhiambo warned that in the event the contractor fails to pay the debt in full, the bank will have no choice but to auction the houses.

“In the worst-case scenario, we will have just to rely on the legal advice and we will be forced to auction these houses to recover our money as per the agreement,” the bank MD said.

The warning comes amid reports that the project attracted over 1,500 potential buyers eagerly waiting for their units to be completed and handed over.

It also emerged that proper valuation was not done before the loan was advanced since the value of the 3.2-acre land is much higher than the Sh1.9 billion.

Tricky addendum
The committee was also astonished to learn that the developer attached an addendum to the principal joint agreement. Ireri further said that Jabavu Village Ltd, the contractor, had not only breached the original agreement but had used the unofficial addendum to apply for the loan.

Jabavu Village CEO Abdulkadir Ahmed Hussein shocked the committee when he said that he cannot explain how the title for the land landed in his hands.

“I am still trying to remember who gave the title for this land,” he told the committee.