If you have visited Nairobi, you most likely know of the controversial OTC Building that has been under construction at OTC for years.
Well, a businessman from Thika named Victor Maina owns the famous building which is located at the Overseas Trading Company (OTC) stage on Ronald Ngala Street.
Additionally, he has made significant investments in the real estate, building, retail, and hospitality sectors.
In 2006, the billionaire purchased the structure that housed Jack N Jill supermarket and eventually had it torn down.
Here is the story of Victor Maina as told by Jambo Daily
Eviction of Jack N Jill supermarket
The premises where the famous OTC building lies currently used to host the classic Jack and Jill Supermarket before the renowned netted building was constructed.
Schon Noorani, the owner of Jack N Jill, suffered significant losses when the property was demolished in 2013 after looters made off with items worth millions of dollars.
Later, it was discovered that Maina had purchased the structure seven years earlier, which was among the ambiguities that caused the building to be demolished.
By the time the structure was destroyed, Maina had requested that Noorani leave the area because he needed to undertake some remodeling.
Despite this, Noorani insisted Maina go to the Business Premises Rent Tribunal, citing the structure’s poor state.
The court ordered the rich store owner to evacuate the property within a week after approving the refurbishment of the structure.
He defied the directive and later went to court to block Maina from ejecting him forcibly from the property.
After the Court of Appeal determined that the grounds were unreasonable and incorrect, the order was subsequently lifted.
Noorani was horrified to see his multi-million dollar investment coming down brick by brick in May 2013.
Millions of dollars in losses resulted from his items being stolen by looters.
Read also Tallest Buildings In Nairobi Kenya.
Construction of the OTC Building
The Overseas Trading Company (OTC) stage’s netted building on Ronald Ngala Street was constructed in the same location as the Jack N Jill store.
The iconic structure has more than a quarter of an acre of space, and its foundation is protected by iron sheets.
Construction safety nets that have lasted for years cover the remainder of the structure.
This week, false information spread on social media sites suggested that the structure had been completed.
Later, it was discovered that the structure with the OTC building’s identical design was in Kampala, Uganda, and not in Nairobi.
According to additional sources, painting is still being done on the OTC building, which is still under construction.
Businesses that Maina owns
In addition, Maina is the proprietor of the massive grocery chain Mathai, which has locations in Nairobi, Thika, Embu, Meru, Karatina, and Nyeri.
He also owns the Klub Image Hotel in Thika, which offers rooms with balconies, flat-screen TVs, and continental breakfast to its visitors.
In Thika, Maina is also the owner of Klub Liquid Cash.
The businessman also owns flats, largely in Thika, and a 17-acre plot of property that has been the focus of a protracted legal dispute.
Maina’s Ksh 300 million fraud
In the case involving businessman Kariuki Muiruri in 2022, Maina was charged with allegedly defrauding 300 million shillings of land.
In 2008, Muiruri sold the land to Maina for Ksh 9 million; however, Maina only paid Ksh 2 million and failed to make the remaining payments by the scheduled 30 days.
A transfer document for the disputed land was allegedly intentionally spoken by Maina.
Muiruri claims that after failing to pay the full Ksh 9 million sale price, he asked Maina to return the original title, but he never received it.
Muiruri had also requested Maina to go for a refund of the Ksh 2 million he had paid which he did not oblige.
Muiruri said before the court that after looking over the transfer documents, he found irregularities because they didn’t bear his signature.
“The signature, KRA PIN, ID numbers, and photographs attached to the transfer paperwork were not mine.”
Victor blamed his attorney Patrick Ngunjiri for the land transaction when he was called about the erroneous transfer of the land, according to Muiruri.
