A London court has ordered Kenyan businessman Paul Ndung’u to pay 374 million shillings ($2.9 million) in legal costs by Jan. 9 after rejecting his bid to reclaim a 17% stake in the holding company behind SportPesa, the prominent betting firm.
The ruling intensifies a bitter dispute among the company’s co-founders, who once collaborated to build one of Kenya’s most successful gaming brands but are now locked in legal battles in Britain and Kenya.
Court sets firm payment deadline
High Court Justice Edwin Johnson on Dec. 10 denied Ndung’u permission to appeal an interim costs order and directed him to pay the full amount by 4 p.m. on Jan. 9, 2026.
The sum breaks down to £548,000 (about 94.5 million shillings) to SportPesa Global Holdings Limited and £1.6 million (275.9 million shillings) to the other defendants, who include Bulgarian investors Guerassim Nikolov, Ivaylo Petev and Kalina Karadzhova, and American shareholder Gene Grand.
Interest will accrue at 1% above the Bank of England base rate — currently 4% — until the deadline. After Jan. 9, the rate rises to 8% above the base rate, potentially pushing the total past 500 million shillings.
In his order, the judge stated: “The claimant to make an interim payment on account of the first defendant in respect of the costs in the amount of £548,000 by 4pm on 9 January 2026.” A separate order required the £1.6 million payment to the remaining defendants by the same deadline.
Ndung’u has not publicly indicated whether he will pay or challenge the order further.
Claim rejected over lack of evidence
The costs order follows a Nov. 18 judgment in which the High Court dismissed Ndung’u’s claims in their entirety.
Ndung’u alleged that fellow directors deliberately diluted his stake from 17% to less than 1% through three rights issues between 2019 and 2021. He accused them of forging board minutes, sending notices to wrong addresses and structuring the capital raises to exclude Kenyan shareholders.
He sought restoration of his original stake, correction of the company register, damages and recovery of his legal costs.
The judge ruled that Ndung’u failed to prove unfairly prejudicial conduct under Britain’s Companies Act.
“The claimant has failed to establish that there has been any conduct of the affairs of the Company which has caused him to suffer prejudice in his capacity as a member of the Company,” Justice Johnson wrote. “The failure of the Claimant to establish unfairly prejudicial conduct means that the question of remedies does not arise.”
The court acknowledged procedural breaches of pre-emption rights requiring existing shareholders to be offered new shares proportionally but found no evidence the violations were deliberate.
Cash crisis sparked share dilution
The dispute began in 2019 when steep tax increases forced SportPesa’s Kenyan operator, Pevans East Africa, to halt operations. The shutdown triggered a liquidity crisis at the offshore holding company.
Directors approved three emergency rights issues totaling £1.9 million: £500,000 in late 2019, another £500,000 soon after and £900,000 in 2021.
Ndung’u and fellow Kenyan shareholder Asenath Wacera Maina did not participate in any of the offers. Their stakes were sharply diluted while Bulgarian and American investors increased their holdings — Nikolov’s share, for example, rose to 46%.
Ndung’u argued he was deliberately kept in the dark, claiming one offer arrived after the deadline and at an incorrect address.
The court accepted that communication errors occurred but found no proof of intentional exclusion or falsified documents.
Battle for SportPesa brand continues
The London setback is the latest development in a prolonged fight over control of the valuable SportPesa trademark.
Separate cases are ongoing in Kenyan courts, where Ndung’u is contesting efforts to remove Kenyan founders entirely from the business.
The current majority shareholders have regained control of Kenyan operations under a new entity, Milestone Games.
For Ndung’u, a co-founder who helped propel SportPesa through major sports sponsorships, the January deadline carries high stakes. Failure to pay could lead to enforcement actions in Britain or Kenya, including potential asset seizures.
The case highlights the risks of fractured partnerships in Kenya’s lucrative betting sector.
