The High Court has dismissed a KSh 23.4 million claim filed by Equity Bank against Wells Fargo Ltd, ruling that the security firm was not liable for the theft of KSh 47 million during a 2019 cash-in-transit operation to Moyale.
- •Justice Freda Mugambi found that the loss was caused by the Bank’s failure to provide on-site security at the airstrip, as required under the operational contract between the parties.
- •In 2019, Wells Fargo was contracted to airlift KSh 60 million from Nairobi to Odda Airstrip in Moyale but upon landing, robbers stole KSh 47 million from the aircraft before any formal handover occurred.
- •Although the money remained physically on board the plane, the Court held that the absence of Equity’s reception team created the opportunity for the heist.
“The absence of a timely and armed reception team created an opportunity for the robbery to occur and interrupted the intended chain of custody. The loss, therefore, was not attributable to negligence on the part of Wells Fargo, but rather to the Bank’s own omission in fulfilling its part of the agreed operational arrangement,” the court ruled.
Equity Bank, through its insurer Britam General Insurance, had sought to recover KSh 23.4 million, comprising an indemnity payout of KSh 22.5 million and KSh 900,000 in assessment and storage fees. The lender argued that the money was still under Wells Fargo’s custody at the time of the heist and claimed that the courier was negligent.
Wells Fargo defended itself by pointing to both the contractual limits of its liability and a consistent operational practice under which the Bank was responsible for security at remote destinations. The firm emphasized that it had fulfilled its role by securing the consignment during transit and that the absence of a reception team at the Moyale airstrip was reason enough to evade blame.
In her ruling, Justice Mugambi affirmed that the written Service Agreement did not require Wells Fargo to provide ground security at Moyale, and that both parties had consistently followed a protocol where Equity’s personnel were expected to receive consignments at such locations.
