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Congregants of Sikh Temple which houses Guru Nanak Academy now want the Trustees of the said temple cited for contempt for disobeying court orders that stopped the demolition of the said property in Pangani.
The members of Sri Gurdwara Bazzar Sikh Temple want the trustees committed to civil jail for such a period of time as the court may deem fit for having deliberately disobeying which were granted in February 2022.
The orders by Environment court judge Oguttu Mboya bar the trustees from demolishing the temple following a suit by the congregants challenging the sale of the temple, saying it was not done legally.
They accuse the trustees and people acting under their instructions of invading the suit premises by jumping over the perimeter wall and demolishing the structures despite the court orders.
“They are in the process of bringing down all the structures including houses where the congregants are tenants and the temple,” they say in court documents.
They say they have reported the matter at the Pangani police station but no action has been taken by the police yet the court order of February had issued an injunction for a period of one year.
“A temporary order of injunction is issued against the defendants restraining them from invading, trespassing into, and accessing, demolishing perimeter wall or in any way interfering with the suit premises,” the order had read.
They however claim on March 31, the servants or agents acting under the instructions of the trustees, numbering to over 40 forcefully broke the main gate and brought in bulldozers to flatten every structure on the premises.
The congregants claim that they have been in occupation of the suit premises for the last 50 years.

They contend that if the trustees evict the tenants including the school from the suit premises which houses Guru Nanak Academy, they will be greatly prejudiced and the students will suffer career development and progression.
It is their argument that the school has a population of over 110 students in different classes ranging from nursery to high school who will be left with nowhere to advance their schooling if they are illegally evicted from the suit premises.
They say during the 10-month period before the expiry of the lease, both the trustees had engaged in negotiations for the sale of the premises to the owners of the school and other persons without the knowledge of members adding that they were shocked to learn of the intended sale through social media.
“The Trustee executive council never sought consent of the temple’s trustees before putting up the premises for sale. If there is any sale the constitution stipulates that an extraordinary general meeting be called with a notice period of 14 days,” they say in court documents.