Absa Bank has received a much-needed reprieve in a case where it is seeking to challenge a Sh1.5 billion compensation awarded to a transport firm, New Mega Africa Ltd.
The compensation was awarded after the bank failed to defend a claim filed against it last year.
The High Court in Mombasa has granted Absa Bank 15 days to file its defence documents and any other relevant documents to counter the compensation award.
This decision provides the bank enough time to prepare its legal defence and present a comprehensive case in court.
The transport firm, which specializes in transporting clinker from Kenya to Tororo, Uganda for cement and other related products, had sued arguing that Absa’s leak of its confidential financial statement scared off lenders, leading to a refusal to lend the firm money.
This, in turn, led to a disruption of the firm’s business operations, with its creditors and suppliers descending upon it.
The court found that the bank had failed to maintain the secrecy of the client’s account by printing its financial statements without authority and sharing them with third parties without express consent.
This recent development comes in the wake of revelations of more hidden skeletons in Absa Bank’s closet, as the bank seeks to clear its name in numerous legal battles, including a copyright infringement case against a local trader entrepreneur Edward James Njoroge Njuguna.
Njuguna complained that the bank changed its name to “Absa Bank Kenya” despite the previous registration of a similar title “Absa Kenya Limited” and the issuance of a certificate of incorporation.
The Absa name was registered in 2007 for a period of ten years and was renewed in 2017 for another ten years.
According to records from Registration of Business Services at the State Law Office, Absa Kenya Limited was registered on November 17, 2006, and the company is active to date.
Further, the website absa.co.ke was registered on September 13, 2005, and has been active ever since.
In his submissions, Njoroge said that his firm, Absa Kenya Limited, had suffered greatly because of the alleged infringement and its trading partners had canceled various transactions.
