Nairobi, June 28 -- The owners of Nairobi's 14 Riverside complex, which houses the DusitD2 hotel, have filed a fresh petition that seeks to stop hire purchase lender Synergy Industrial Credit from enforcing a Sh10.6 billion debt linked to an arbitration award.

Cape Holdings is also asking the High Court to declare part of the Banking Act that excludes judgment debtors from protection against runaway interest as unconstitutional, and to determine whether compound interest could lawfully accrue when the arbitral award had been set aside.

The petition stems from a 2015 arbitrator's decision ordering Cape Holdings to pay Synergy Industrial Credit Sh1.6 billion, plus compound interest at 18 percent annually until payment in full, following a...