Blow to Nakumatt as lawyers ditch the embattled retailer

A law firm representing embattled Nakumatt Holdings in an insolvency suit on Wednesday, December 20 filed an application at the High Court to withdraw from holding brief for the cash-strapped retailer.

Iseme, Kamau and Maema Advocates, who represent Nakumatt, are seeking to withdraw on grounds that differences on case strategy have caused a rift between the law firm and the retail chain.

Kamau Karuri, who has been the lead lawyer in the case, stated: “Nakumatt has been ignoring and acting contrary to our legal advice making it impossible for us to continue representing them.”

The application is before Justice Fred Ochieng.

Last week, High Court judge Joseph Onguto withdrew from hearing the case after some creditors wrote a letter to Chief Justice David Maraga accusing him of bias.

Nakumatt moved to court in November seeking an injunction to bar a landlord from evicting the supermarket from their premises.

The retailer attributed part of its problems to the year-old Banking Amendment Act 2016 which put a cap on interest rates.

Proprietor and CEO Atul Shah said the law had severely affected the supermarket’s ability to access short to medium term financing that it relied upon to meet its obligations to creditors.

Nakumatt emphasized on the necessity for it to re-negotiate fresh terms with financial institutions owing to the “unforeseen circumstances”.