It is said that even the rich cry. This is what President Uhuru’s nephew and personal aide Jomo Gecaga found out in 2020 when former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero moved to kick him out from his apartments located in Nairobi’s Riverside estate. Apparently, Gecag had failed to pay the rent which cost Sh. 540,000 per month.
To avoid the eviction, Gecaga, through a company called JSTA Limited, rushed to court seeking to stop GemInvest Limited from evicting him from the apartment.
Already, a two-year tenancy agreement between the two which was entered into on March 28, 2014 had expired. A letter from Kidero’s firm Geminvest showed that Gecaga had refused to pay Sh. 400,000 as rent security deposit and sign a new lease agreement after the earlier one expired for the apartment House No. 2C on Riverside Drive.
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The eviction row was triggered by Gecaga’s unilateral decision to continue paying half rent of Sh. 250,000 beyond September 2020, and his push to forgo paying an additional lease fees of Sh. 950,000. Apparently, he had written to Kidero through his company Geminvest asking for the rent waiver, upon which Kidero refused and asked him to pay off the balance then move from the house.
“Geminvest Limited will not accept payment of Sh. 250,000 only as monthly rent,” the company said in a September 15 notice attached in court documents. The company requests that you clear current outstanding bill of Sh. 950,000 for period ending September 30 and then vacate the unit,” Kidero had responded.
It further said; “We hereby request that you vacate the premises not later than 30 September due to inability to fulfill payment of rental obligation as was agreed on following your request on rent reduction. We pray for your cooperation to avoid potential litigation at your cost.”
The court papers indicated that GEM issued JSTA with a tenancy termination notice on September 17 2020. The notice indicated that JSTA should clear outstanding rentals of Sh. 950,000, renovate the apartment and vacate the house by September 30. GEMInvest threatened court action if the two conditions were not met.
Jomo Gecaga works at State House while his sister Nana Gecaga is the chief executive of Kenyatta International Convention Centre, a State corporation.