Two directors of Pride-inn Hotel directors who are accused of malicious damage to property have made an application to stop the proceedings.
The two Mohammed Hasnain Shabbir Noorani and Mohamed Shabbir Kassim, through their lawyer Prof. Tom Ojienda informed the court that they have moved to high court seeking court orders to stop directors of Public Prosecutions from prosecuting them.
Ojienda told the court that the criminal case against his clients is purely a civil matter and also it is a family dispute. He successfully requested to be given more time first to complete the high court case.
However, prosecution led by senior state counsel Anderson Gikunda opposed the application by the defence to be given more time, saying they have not obtained a stay order to warrant lower court to grant them more time.
The magistrate allowed the application by lawyer Ojienda, saying it has merit and that it is fair for the court to wait for the high court outcome instead of issuing contradiction orders in the case. She directed the case to be mentioned on September 29.2021 for further directions.
The accused have since denied two counts of willfully and unlawfully destroying Pride Inn Hotel building and theft of over Sh 173,789,959.
The prosecution alleges that between May 1 and July 1 last year along Raphta Road in Westlands, Nairobi county, the two, jointly destroyed the building belonging to Imran Abdul Salaam and further stole CCTVs, door locks, server room equipment, furniture, and fittings, all valued at Sh 173,789,959.
Kassim and Noornani have been embroiled in a bitter dispute with Abdulsalaam after entering a second sub-lease agreement and renovations, which were carried out.
It is said that PrideInn leased the premises between 2009 and 2015 and was renewed for another five years in 2016. During the renovations, the furniture and fittings were removed before the parties fell out and multiple cases were filed in court, some involving the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Director of Public Prosecutions.
