High Court Refused Mombasa Cement’s Bid to Freeze Broad Contractors’ Assets

The High Court has rejected an application by Mombasa Cement Limited seeking to freeze the bank accounts and attach the assets of its customer, Broad Contractors—an Affordable Housing Programme contractor—over a disputed Sh73.76 million debt for supplied clinker and raw construction materials.

Presiding over the commercial suit, Justice Wachira held that Mombasa Cement failed to meet the strict legal threshold required for pre-judgment attachment of assets under Order 39 Rule 5 of the Civil Procedure Rules.

The legal battle stems from an application filed by Mombasa Cement to secure potential recovery, alleging that Broad Contractors had failed to liquidate its outstanding invoice balances and accrued interest for clinker shipments.

Broad Contractors strongly contested the application, denying any agreement on the disputed monthly interest rates and arguing that imposing restrictive freeze orders would cripple its ongoing project operations and cash flows across active Affordable Housing construction sites.

In rendering the decision, Justice Wachira emphasized established judicial precedent (citing Kanyoko t/a Amigos Bar & Restaurant v Nderu), ruling that attachment before judgment is an extraordinary remedy that must not be granted lightly.

The judge clarified that merely establishing the existence of an unpaid debt or pending receivables does not prove an intention by a debtor to dispose of or dissipate assets to frustrate a court decree.

While the ruling shields Broad Contractors from operational paralysis, the court noted that the decision does not extinguish Mombasa Cement’s underlying claim for Sh73.76 million, which will be formally determined through full trial litigation.

This commercial debt audit highlights how contract law, supply chain liquidity, and judicial thresholds for asset preservation intersect across Kenya’s expanding construction sector.

As building material suppliers navigate heightened commercial risks, the High Court ruling sets a crucial legal benchmark for debt recovery practices.

https://x.com/KTNNewsKE/status/2115435985169248501?a=d0IRFd5GTIeE9RVdGnY&s=20

TheNewsBreaker feedback-opera-news-app@opera.com