Manwin Hotel owner sues city

The owner of the Manwin Hotel, which was destroyed by fire in January, is trying to sue the City of Winnipeg for $15 million.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service officials ordered the charred remains of the hotel, at 655 Main St., to be demolished while crews were still working to extinguish the blaze that engulfed the dilapidated, vacant hotel.

The Manwin had been vacant since the city ordered residents — who occupied cheap, single rooms — to leave in January 2025. The owner had failed to address multiple outstanding permit requirements and compliance orders.

The city was in the early stages of trying to expropriate the property when the fire erupted on Jan. 14.

Property owner Akim Kambamba’s company filed a brief statement of claim in the Court of King’s Bench last week in which it seeks extensive damages, plus court costs. Kambamba’s company hasn’t retained a lawyer and filed the suit itself.

The city has yet to reply in court.

The company claims that one day before the fire, the city advised Kambamba that the building had been breached. He was told to arrange to have the building boarded up again. Vacant property owners are responsible for securing their buildings under a city bylaw.

Kambamba claims he asked city police to sweep the building first, but they refused. He conducted a “make believe boarding” of the Manwin.

In the court filing, Kambamba’s company claims the city’s decision to allow Main Street Project to provide services to homeless people at its adjacent property interfered with his business.

The suit argues the city breached its duty of care to him by allowing the shelter to provide services that he claims hurt his operation.

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The suit claims the city had the duty of properly securing the Manwin, despite the bylaw dictating it’s the responsibility of property owners.

Kambamba claims, without including evidence in the court filing, the city “improperly” shut down the hotel and evicted the tenants.

After the city ordered the hotel to be closed, Kambamba briefly listed it for sale at a price of $2.8 million.

Fire department and city officials haven’t said what caused the fire.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Erik Pindera
Reporter

Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020.  Read more about Erik.

Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.