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ADVERTA Nairobi businessman has moved to court seeking nearly Sh27 million in damages after his luxury Range Rover was allegedly detained for close to eight years in a legal saga involving a lender, police investigators and the State.
Bryan Yongo Otumba and Wayaga Construction Company Limited are demanding Sh26.95 million from the State, Mwananchi Credit Limited and its director, Dennis Mwangeka Mombo, accusing them of causing massive financial losses through the prolonged detention and handling of the vehicle.
At the centre of the dispute is a Range Rover Autobiography, registration number KCH 856A, which Yongo says was used as security for a Sh4 million loan obtained from Mwananchi Credit in November 2016.
What began as a commercial financing arrangement later spiralled into a criminal prosecution and a protracted court battle that kept the vehicle out of the businessman’s possession for years.
Yongo contends that Mwananchi Credit conducted due diligence on the vehicle before advancing the loan and found its ownership documents to be genuine and consistent with records held by the National Transport and Safety Authority.
ADVERTHowever, disagreements subsequently emerged over the loan and its repayment, eventually leading to a police complaint and criminal charges against Yongo and Wayaga Construction.
The businessman was arrested in October 2018 and charged at the Milimani Chief Magistrate’s Court with offences including forgery, uttering a false document, obtaining money by false pretences and possession of suspected stolen property.
Yongo has maintained that the criminal case was unjustified and that a commercial dispute had effectively been transformed into a criminal matter.
The lender also pursued a separate civil claim seeking millions of shillings, further deepening the legal battle.
The criminal proceedings dragged on for more than five years before Senior Principal Magistrate Benmark Ekhubi acquitted Yongo and Wayaga Construction on January 23, 2024.
The court found that although questions had been raised over the manner in which the disputed logbook was obtained, the prosecution had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Yongo had forged the document or knowingly possessed a forged document.
The acquittal, however, did not immediately bring the matter to an end.
The Director of Public Prosecutions challenged the decision before the High Court, prolonging the dispute and leaving the Range Rover in custody.
The legal battle eventually reached a decisive point on July 29, 2026, when Justice Alexander Muasya Muteti dismissed the prosecution’s appeal, effectively upholding Yongo’s acquittal.
The court also ordered the release of the vehicle and the closure of the criminal proceedings.
According to Yongo, the Range Rover was eventually released around August 20, 2026, almost eight years after the dispute began.
But the businessman says the vehicle he recovered was no longer the same asset that had entered official custody years earlier.
He claims the prolonged detention resulted in deterioration, loss of value and loss of use, leaving him with substantial financial losses.
Yongo is seeking Sh1.5 million in legal and court-related expenses, Sh13.95 million for loss of use of the vehicle over 93 months and Sh11.5 million for diminution in value or restoration costs.
Together, the claims amount to Sh26.95 million.
He is also seeking general, aggravated and exemplary damages, compensation for the alleged wrongful detention of the vehicle, interest and the costs of the latest suit.
The businessman argues that the prolonged legal battle also affected his business interests, reputation and ability to use the vehicle for commercial purposes.
The case presents a significant legal question beyond the fortunes of one businessman: who should bear responsibility when property remains in official custody for years and ultimately loses substantial value while the legal dispute surrounding it remains unresolved?
It also highlights the potentially devastating financial consequences of prolonged litigation for businesses and individuals whose assets become caught between commercial disputes and criminal investigations.
For Yongo, the issue is no longer simply about the original Sh4 million loan.
It is about what he describes as almost eight years of lost use, depreciating property, legal expenses and a prolonged fight to reclaim an asset he says should never have remained in custody for so long.
The defendants are yet to have their positions conclusively determined by the court, and the Sh26.95 million being sought remains a claim subject to judicial determination.
But the case has already evolved from a relatively modest Sh4 million financing dispute into an extraordinary eight-year legal saga involving a luxury vehicle, criminal charges, multiple court proceedings and a multimillion-shilling compensation claim.
The outcome could have wider implications for disputes involving seized property, financial institutions, police investigations and the State’s responsibility for assets held in official custody for extended periods.
