MANSEA BEACH AND IMMOGAM BATTLE OVER D22M RENT CLAIM
A titanic court battle has erupted between Mansea Beach Hotel, owned by Nigerian tourism investor Chief David Sabo Kente, and ImmoGam Hotels & Resorts (Gambia) Limited, and its owner.
According to court documents accessed by The Standard. Mansea Beach and its owner are seeking to block payments of about D22M due to them by ImmoGam, from being paid to other entities without their consent.
They have now applied to be joined as parties in an earlier suit filed by one Prince Williams Michael against ImmoGam and Abdoulaye Thiam.
That suit seeks to direct the disputed rental income to Mr Williams allegedly without any notice or consent of Chief Kente or Mansea Beach Hotel.
Meanwhile Chief Kente and Mansea Beach Hotel have themselves filed a separate suit, in which they are pursuing payment of alleged rental arrears from ImmoGam Hotels & Resorts and Mr. Thiam, totalling US$300,000 — over D22 million, when penalties for late payments are factored.
The application, this newspaper understands, is the latest step in a set of related suits now before the High Court of The Gambia, all concerning alleged entitlement to rental arrears said to be owed by ImmoGam Hotels & Resorts and Mr Thiam under an existing tenancy arrangement.
Court files also show that the Consent Terms now under challenge would, if left to stand, require Mansea Beach Hotel to receive the disputed funds on Mr Williams’ behalf, enforce the Consent Terms, and withdraw Chief Kente and Mansea Beach Hotel’s own suit — despite neither of them having signed, been served with, or consented to the arrangement.
Chief Kente and Mansea Beach Hotel are also defendants in a third suit, in which Mr Williams claimed that the same rental arrears should be paid to him rather than to them.
Following an interlocutory decision on that matter, Chief Kente and Mansea Beach Hotel have appealed to the Court of Appeal, and an application to stay proceedings pending that appeal, presently before the trial Court.
Chief Kente and Mansea Beach Hotel are represented by Senior Counsel Mai Ahmad Fatty of MAF & Law Associates while Thiam is represented by Senior Counsels Kebba Sanyang of Kansala Chambers and Lamin Ceesay of Solie Law Chambers.
From court papers, which are matters of public record, Chief Kente and Mansea Beach Hotel described their joinder application as a necessary and a lawful step to protect their right to fair hearing, noting that the Consent Terms, on their face, make no mention of either of the two other pending suits, even though giving effect to them would in practice decide the outcome of both.
Chief Kente and Mansea Beach Hotel say they remain committed to letting the courts determine, on the full facts and after a fair hearing, who is rightly entitled to the disputed rental income.
They maintain that their claim to the arrears is grounded in a lawful and existing tenancy arrangement with ImmoGam Hotels & Resorts and that they have at all times pursued their rights through proper legal processes.
All three suits remain pending before the High Court of The Gambia for continuation in October.
Source: The Standard
