Access Bank Kenya in Bitter Feud with Longstanding Client Over Multimillion Defamation Suit

Access Bank Kenya is embroiled in a high-stakes legal battle with a longtime client, Shipside and General Services Ltd, a Mombasa-based clearing and forwarding firm, over what the company alleges is a damaging and erroneous listing with a Credit Reference Bureau (CRB).

The dispute, now before the High Court in Mombasa, has escalated into a defamation suit seeking over KSh30 million in compensation.

Shipside, which has operated at the Port of Mombasa for over three decades, claims the bank’s actions shattered its financial credibility, leading to lost business opportunities and the abrupt end of a lucrative client relationship.

At the heart of the case is a controversial CRB report allegedly submitted by Access Bank (formerly Transnational Bank), which listed Shipside as a loan defaulter.

This adverse listing, the company argues, resulted in the cancellation of an approved KSh8 million loan from Stanbic Bank that was intended to support ongoing operations.

“As a result, I lost an approved Sh8 million credit facility, suffered significant business losses due to lack of working capital, lost a clientele base built over three decades and faced diminished trust from creditors,” stated Shipside’s Managing Director Willie Mbote in court filings.

Fictional Loans and Factual Fallout

Mbote contends that Access Bank falsely reported five loan accounts under Shipside’s name, including a $162,071 (approximately KSh20.9 million) loan that he insists was never taken, a KSh3.6 million account marked as non-performing despite prior clearance, and another KSh255,150 flagged as unpaid.

Curiously, despite these listings, the bank continued issuing credit to Shipside, raising questions about either severe internal inconsistencies or deliberate misinformation.

A Collateral Casualty

The ripple effects of the listing were severe. Kensalt Ltd, a key client that had worked with Shipside for over 30 years, confirmed in a supporting affidavit that it was forced to terminate the partnership in early 2022 after Shipside failed to secure working capital.

Kensalt’s General Manager Arpan Basu Roy noted that had the financial issues not emerged, the collaboration would have continued uninterrupted.

The firm’s lawsuit accuses Access Bank of negligence, breach of duty, and defamation, arguing the institution failed to notify Shipside before making the listing and neglected to update the CRB after loans were cleared—both violations of the 2020 CRB regulations.

Bank Fights Back

Access Bank, in its defense, denied the allegations and argued that the suit is not only without merit but also legally time-barred, since it was filed over two years after the alleged defamatory listing.

The bank challenged the firm to provide strict proof of the losses and insisted it fulfilled all regulatory obligations.

The bank’s branch manager, David Ndirangu Mwangi, claimed the lawsuit is a strategic move by Shipside to derail an unrelated statutory property sale connected to another matter.

He further pointed out that the company failed to present clear financial records or evidence linking the listing directly to the loss of business or loan rejection.

“The firm has claimed loss of business without tendering any evidence of its financial status from 2012 to the time of filing the suit,” Mwangi argued in his affidavit.

CRB Misuse or Corporate Negligence?

This case underscores growing concerns among Kenyan SMEs about the opaque and often unilateral credit reporting practices by banks, which can have life-altering consequences for businesses without due process or transparency.

As the court weighs the evidence, the dispute raises larger questions about accountability in the banking sector and the effectiveness of existing regulations in protecting borrowers from reputational harm.

The outcome could set a critical precedent for how defamation and negligence are interpreted in cases of financial blacklisting in Kenya’s rapidly evolving credit environment.