Kasarani MP Karauri sues to freeze $552,000 escrow in loan dispute

Kasarani MP Ronald Karauri has taken a private financing fight into the High Court, asking judges to freeze roughly $552,000 — about Sh71.4 million — sitting in a USD escrow account at UBA Kenya’s Upper Hill branch, Eastleigh Voice reported.

The suit names technology firm Compugeen Africa Limited and Conrad Law Advocates LLP. Karauri says he advanced the money in March 2025 so it could sit as escrow security while Compugeen chased third-party financing. On his reading of the contract, the cash was refundable within ten days plus compensation equal to 10% of the loan — whether or not the bigger deal closed.

Why he wants an urgent freeze

He claims the company admitted the debt and won an extension to 28 April 2025, then failed again. Advocate Conrad Maloba, he says, controls the escrow; without a restraint, funds could leave the jurisdiction. He also argues Compugeen’s directors — identified in the papers as Nigerian nationals — have no known attachable assets in Kenya, so a later judgment without a freeze would be a paper win.

Emails and demand letters are attached as exhibits. Until the court hears both sides, the public record is still one party’s affidavit, not a final finding of fraud or breach.

What the docket should clarify next

Whether the escrow terms match Clause 5 as pleaded; whether the law firm is a stakeholder or a defendant with independent liability; and how fast an inter-partes hearing is set. Politics desk: Politics.

MPs’ private commercial disputes are not county budgets, but they do test whether high-value escrow practice in Nairobi is enforceable when politics and foreign directors collide. Watch for any counterclaim or bank interpleader that freezes the narrative as firmly as the money.

Based on Eastleigh Voice reporting of Karauri’s High Court application. Court orders and pleadings control the live dispute; allegations are not findings.