Real Estate Firm Bayside Dragged to Court as Investor Pushes for Liquidation of Prime Kilimani Property

A simmering property dispute has exploded into a full scale legal war after Bayside Limited, the developer behind a long stalled office block on Lenana Road, was hit with insolvency proceedings seeking to liquidate the company and auction its land to settle mounting debts.

In Insolvency Cause No. NRB HCCOMMIN E016/2026 before the Commercial Division of the High Court in Nairobi, advocate Saitabao ole Kanchory has asked the court to declare Bayside Limited insolvent, arguing that the firm is unable to meet its financial obligations to creditors and investors.

Kanchory, who describes himself as both creditor and former investor, claims the company has failed to honour commitments dating back to 2017 in relation to a proposed 15 storey Grade A office development on Land Reference No. 1/761, popularly known as 761 Lenana Road in Kilimani.

The project was marketed as a premium commercial complex complete with multi level parking and modern finishes. Nearly a decade later, what stands on the prime parcel is an incomplete shell.

Construction is said to have ground to a halt around 2018.

Since then, investors have allegedly waited in vain for either completion or refunds. Kanchory has circulated images contrasting glossy promotional renders with the current state of the structure, accusing the developer of abandoning the project while creditors remain unpaid.

In court filings, Kanchory has branded Bayside a “broke briefcase company” and vowed to push for a public auction of the land to recover what he says is owed.

This week, he disclosed that he had filed a lengthy replying affidavit in the insolvency proceedings, intensifying pressure on the developer.

The battle has since taken a dramatic turn. Two directors of Bayside Limited, Fatuma Sulekha Issa Osman Ghalinle and Bachir Mohamed Mahamoud, have filed a separate defamation suit at the High Court in Milimani, accusing Kanchory of waging a sustained online campaign to tarnish their names.

In their plaint and certificate of urgency, the directors allege that a series of posts published between late January and mid February falsely accuse them of fraud, criminal misappropriation of investor funds and breach of trust.

They claim the statements have attracted tens of thousands of views and caused serious reputational harm, including distress to their families. They are seeking urgent injunctive orders to restrain further publications.

Kanchory has dismissed the defamation case as an attempt to intimidate and silence him, publicly declaring he will fight both suits head on.

He has also stated that the High Court previously declined to grant interim orders sought to restrict his commentary on the insolvency matter.

Bayside’s legal troubles are not new.

The company has previously been embroiled in commercial litigation, including a 2023 dispute with DIB Bank Kenya Ltd over a Sh150 million facility secured against the same Lenana Road property, according to court records.

The twin cases now unfolding place one of Kilimani’s prime parcels at the centre of a high stakes courtroom confrontation.

At issue is not only the fate of the stalled development, but also the reputations and financial exposure of those behind it.

Both the insolvency cause and the defamation suit remain active before the High Court.