Court Dismisses 139 Claims by Debt Collecting Firms, Accuses Them of Abuse of Process

A Nairobi court has dismissed more than 130 claims filed by six start-up companies terming the cases as vexatious.

The Small claims court noted that the six companies have been filing similar claims, and termed them as vexatious litigants.

Resident magistrate Kiongo Kagenyo went ahead and dismissed the 139 claims.

The firms that filed the claims include Kalita System Debt Holding Kenya Limited, Garnet Portfolio Management Limited, Aventus Technology Limited, Sirius Collect Limited, Maxlev-Finance Limited and M-Collect Limited vexatious litigants.

The magistrate said she was concerned on whether the companies had satisfied the requirements under Section 33S of the Central Bank of Kenya Act.

“The totality of the foregoing is that the Court is compelled to make a finding that the Claimant is abusing the Court process making it a candidate of being declared a vexatious litigant pursuant to section 2 (1) of the Vexatious Proceedings Act, and consequently dismiss the suit in limine, at this stage, which it hereby does,” ruled the Magistrate.

In one of the claims filed by Aventus Technology Limited, on 6th January 2025, the magistrate noted that Donald Nyaga appeared before her and stated was an employee of the firm and was representing it all matters.

And when asked whether the firm had complied with the CBK requirements, he said the firm was in the process of doing so.

“As it stands therefore, Aventus Technology Limited is operating in non-conformity with the dictates of the regulating Authority and the court cannot dignify an illegality by presiding over such matters. For the foregoing, all the matters filed by Aventus Technology Limited as appearing in today’s causelist are hereby dismissed for the Claimant is operating contrary to the law,” ruled the magistrate.

The magistrate added that the ruling would apply to all the 139 claims.

Kagenyo noted that  the companies have been filing claims in droves and immediately after such filing abandon them and hardly prosecute them.

“This matter is no exception and falls in the category of such neglected filed Claims,” Magistrate Kagenyo noted.

The Court further observed that the claimants seem to be just intent of filing a suit and having a case number and summons to enter an appearance endorsed by the court, for other purposes but not pursuing the matter to its logical conclusion.

The magistrate said the conduct of the claimants was abusing the Court process.

“Indeed, a keen look at the documents filed by the aforestated six companies shows a striking similarity and it is not so hard to discern that they are all but a metamorphosis of one, and sadly only metamorphosing in form but inherently retaining the character of abandoning the filed suits,” Said Resident Magistrate Kagenyo.