High Court Clears Auction of Tuskys Supermarket

The High Court in Mombasa has given Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) Kenya the green light to auction Tuskys Supermarket’s Athi River branch to recover a loan that has swelled to more than Ksh320 million, ending nearly a decade-long legal standoff with the defunct retailer’s guarantors.

Justice Ngaah Jairus ruled on October 24, 2025, that DTB and its auctioneer, Garam Investments Auctioneers, were lawfully entitled to proceed with the sale after rejecting an application by Tuskys’ former associates, Peter Thuo and Nelly Ngonyo Kamau, to stop the bank from enforcing its security.

The plaintiffs, who stood as guarantors for the collapsed supermarket’s facility, had sought to stay the execution of a decree and pay the debt in Ksh 5,000 monthly installments, citing financial hardship and lack of notice of a prior ruling.

Attempts to Stop the Auction

In their applications, filed in October and November 2024, Thuo and Kamau pleaded with the court to extend time to file a notice of appeal and allow repayment by instalments.

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They argued that they only became aware of the court’s earlier ruling when they were served with a notice to show cause in September 2024.

“I was not aware of the ruling against which we intend to appeal because the plaintiffs were never notified when it was delivered,” Thuo stated in his affidavit.

“It is only on 3 September 2024, when the applicant was served with the notice to show cause, that he became aware of the ruling.”

The pair insisted they were unable to raise the full decretal amount, noting that Kamau “was not engaged in any income-generating activity.”

DTB Kenya on the Appeal

DTB, through the interested parties Mwanaisha Kiriale Mohammed and Mbarak Hamisi Mbarak, opposed the application, describing it as a delay tactic.

In their replying affidavit, they argued that the plaintiffs “are people of means and capable of settling the decretal sum,” and that the notice of appeal filed was “irregular.”

Justice Ngaah agreed in part, ruling that while the applicants had demonstrated sufficient reason to extend time for filing an appeal, the request to halt DTB’s recovery was premature and outside the court’s jurisdiction.

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“This court can only entertain an application for stay of execution pending appeal from the magistrate’s court when the appeal has, in fact, been filed,” the judge said. “Without the appeal, an application for stay of execution… is premature.”

The court therefore granted Thuo and Kamau a 14-day extension to lodge their notice of appeal but declined to grant a stay of execution.

“In the final analysis,” Justice Ngaah ruled, “the applicants’ application dated 17 October 2024 is allowed only to the extent that the time to file the notice of appeal is extended by fourteen days… The rest of the prayers are declined.”

Greenlight to Auction Tuskys Supermarket

The decision clears the way for DTB to recover the outstanding loan through the auction of the Athi River branch, one of Tuskys’ former flagship outlets.

Once a retail giant with more than 60 stores across East Africa, Tuskys collapsed under the weight of mounting debts and internal wrangles beginning in 2020.

The Athi River property, which had been charged to DTB as collateral, is now expected to be sold to offset part of the massive debt portfolio owed to multiple creditors.

“I am satisfied that the applicants may not have been aware of the ruling until they were served with the notice to show cause,” the judge added. “In these circumstances, I am inclined to exercise my discretion in favour of the applicants and extend the time to file the notice of appeal.”

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