The liquidator of collapsed United Insurance has defended his stewardship of the insurer’s winding-up, telling the High Court that he had already begun paying creditors before the process was halted by court orders.
Kamal Anantroy Bhatt, one of Kenya’s best-known insolvency practitioners, appeared before Justice Francis Gikonyo last week to explain his position after some creditors made applications seeking his removal as liquidator and replacement by the Official Receiver.
During the proceedings, Bhatt revealed that he had convened a creditors’ meeting on October 2, 2025, where creditors authorised the sale of the insurer’s assets to facilitate payment of verified claims. He said he had completed verification of claims and started processing payments before the court halted the exercise.
“I have done my best to update the creditors and process payments. I had started processing payments but was stopped by the court,” Bhatt told the judge.
The disclosure offers the clearest indication yet that, after nearly two decades of delays since United Insurance was placed under statutory management, the liquidation process had finally moved into the payment stage.
Bhatt, whose insolvency portfolio includes high-profile restructurings and administrations such as Glee Hotel, English Point Marina and Fly540, told the court that the liquidation had reached an advanced stage after months of tracing assets, verifying claims and updating property records.
He explained that one of the biggest challenges had been valuing more than 350 land parcels owned by the insurer across several counties. The previous valuation had been a desktop exercise conducted in 2014, making a fresh comprehensive valuation necessary before any asset disposal.
The updated valuation reports were handed to the court, lawyers representing the parties and other stakeholders during the hearing.
Bhatt also disclosed that he had initiated recovery proceedings to recover Sh141 million allegedly belonging to Fidei Holdings Ltd, a United Insurance subsidiary, from shareholder George Kariuki.
According to the liquidator, progress in recovering the money has been slowed by difficulties in changing the directors of Fidei Holdings.
Asked by the court how soon another creditors’ meeting could be convened, Bhatt said he would require only two weeks, subject to funds being made available to advertise the meeting and secure a venue.
Justice Gikonyo directed that the meeting be held physically on September 11, 2026, at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), or another accessible venue, with virtual participation also allowed. He further ordered Bhatt to file an index of all reports within 14 days ahead of the next hearing on September 28.
The applications seeking Bhatt’s removal were filed by shareholders George Kariuki and John Mbuu through lawyer Wanjiku Ithondeka, and by creditors represented by lawyer Charles Kihara.
The applicants accuse the liquidator of spending at least Sh151 million without adequate consultation. They claim the Policyholders Compensation Fund placed about Sh340 million and assets worth approximately Sh5 billion under his management for the liquidation.
Responding to questions over the fees, Bhatt maintained they were reasonable and below the maximum allowed under the law.
He explained that insolvency regulations permit a liquidator in a compulsory winding-up to charge Sh150,000 on the first Sh1 million realised and 10 per cent of the remaining assets.
“My fees are Sh5 million exclusive of VAT per month. I consider them reasonable and, in some cases, below the industry average. In exercising discretion on my remuneration, I considered the amount of work to be done in this liquidation,” he said.
Bhatt also defended a Sh20 million payment made shortly after his appointment to a law firm handling numerous pending cases involving the insurer.
“The day we took over, there were ongoing cases. We could not retain the previous lawyers. We engaged a law firm, which requested a deposit. All these payments were made through RTGS,” he said.
He told the court that every payment had been fully accounted for through invoices, vouchers and supporting documents running to more than 1,800 pages. He added that periodic reports and audited accounts had also been filed in court.
Bhatt further challenged the standing of some of the parties seeking his removal, stating that under insolvency law, only persons who have lodged proof-of-debt forms qualify as creditors.
He told the court that, to date, lawyer Kihara had not filed a single proof-of-debt form on behalf of the creditors he claimed to represent.
Justice Gikonyo observed that creditors who fail to lodge their claims within the prescribed timelines risk being excluded from payment unless the court extends the deadline.
Significantly, several creditors present in court urged the judge to allow Bhatt to complete the liquidation, saying he was the first liquidator since 2005 to make tangible progress towards paying creditors.
United Insurance, one of Kenya’s oldest insurers, was licensed in 1987 but was placed under statutory management in July 2005 after failing to meet statutory solvency requirements
