Kenyan Billionaire Vimal Shah, Ex-CBK Governor Nahashon Nyagah Lose $3 Billion Tatu City Battle

Kenyan billionaire and Bidco Africa chairman, Vimal Shah and former Central Bank of Kenya Governor Nahashon Nyagah have effectively lost their long-running fight to retain a stake in Tatu City, handing developer Stephen Jennings a major victory in one of East Africa’s most consequential corporate disputes.

• Mauritius’ highest court dismissed a legal challenge linked to Tatu City’s ownership structure.
• The ruling is a major victory for developer Stephen Jennings and his Rendeavour group.
• The dispute stems from a 2018 arbitration ruling and the subsequent liquidation of Manhattan Coffee.
• Tatu City has grown into a $3 billion investment hub hosting more than 100 businesses in Kenya.

The setback follows a ruling by Mauritius’ highest court that dismissed a legal challenge linked to shares held through the offshore investment structure used by the Kenyan investors to own part of the multibillion-dollar project.

The decision brings to a close a battle that has stretched across Kenya, England and Mauritius for nearly two decades, involving allegations of fraud, international arbitration proceedings and competing claims over one of Africa’s most ambitious private urban developments.

At stake is Tatu City, the 5,000-acre mixed-use Special Economic Zone outside Nairobi that has evolved into one of Kenya’s largest private investment hubs, attracting billions of dollars in commitments from manufacturers, logistics firms, schools, retailers and property developers.

Court hands Jennings key victory

The Privy Council, which serves as Mauritius’ final court of appeal, ruled that businessman Stephen Mbugua Mwagiru lacked the legal standing to continue litigation on behalf of Manhattan Coffee Investment Holdings after the company entered liquidation.

Mwagiru is one of the Kenyan investors associated with Manhattan Coffee, the Mauritian investment vehicle through which Shah, Nyagah and other investors held interests connected to Tatu City.

The court found that once Manhattan Coffee entered liquidation, Mwagiru could no longer pursue derivative proceedings in the company’s name because he was neither a creditor nor a shareholder with the authority to act on its behalf.

The ruling effectively clears the way for liquidators to continue dealing with Manhattan Coffee’s remaining assets, including shares held in Cedar IV and Cedar V, offshore holding companies that sit within Tatu City’s ownership structure.

For Jennings and his Rendeavour group, the judgment removes one of the last major legal obstacles hanging over the project’s ownership structure.

How the dispute began

The roots of the conflict can be traced back more than a decade, but the dispute escalated dramatically in 2018 when the London Court of International Arbitration ruled against Manhattan Coffee.

The tribunal found that Manhattan Coffee had failed to pay a $20 million land deposit connected to property on which Tatu City was being developed despite representing that the payment had been made.

It subsequently awarded approximately $15 million in damages, costs and interest to SCF Holdings II, Jennings’ investment vehicle.

The award was not successfully challenged and remained unpaid, prompting enforcement efforts that eventually led to the winding up of Manhattan Coffee in Mauritius in 2023.

Following the liquidation, Manhattan Coffee’s interests in the offshore holding companies became subject to disposal by court-appointed liquidators, triggering a fresh wave of litigation that culminated in the latest Privy Council decision.

Tatu City

While the dispute has often appeared to be a complex shareholder battle, the significance of the ruling lies in the scale of the asset at its centre.

Tatu City is Kenya’s first operational mixed-use Special Economic Zone and one of the most prominent private urban developments in Africa.

The project was designed as a live-work-play city incorporating residential neighbourhoods, industrial parks, schools, retail centres, offices and recreational facilities.

The development is intended to accommodate more than 250,000 residents and tens of thousands of daily workers, making it one of the largest master-planned city projects on the continent.

Its economic footprint has expanded rapidly in recent years.

According to figures released by Tatu City in 2025, investment commitments linked to the development reached $3 billion, comprising about $2.2 billion in active investments and a further $800 million in the pipeline.

The project says it hosts more than 100 businesses, including more than 40 Special Economic Zone-licensed enterprises, representing over half of Kenya’s SEZ firms.

Companies operating within the development include local and international manufacturers, logistics providers, retailers and service firms that have been attracted by tax incentives, dedicated infrastructure and proximity to Nairobi.

What comes next

The Privy Council ruling does not directly transfer ownership of Tatu City to Jennings or Rendeavour.

However, it significantly strengthens their position by removing a legal challenge that sought to prevent the disposal of Manhattan Coffee’s interests in the offshore entities linked to the project.

For Shah and Nyagah, two of Kenya’s most prominent business figures, the judgment marks the latest setback in a dispute that has consumed years of litigation and reshaped the ownership landscape of one of East Africa’s most valuable real estate developments.

For Jennings, it brings him closer to consolidating control over a project that has grown from a contested land venture into one of Africa’s largest private-sector urban investment platforms.