City seeks to have Manwin suit tossed

The City of Winnipeg says the claims made by the owner of the Manwin Hotel, in a lawsuit filed after the dilapidated Main Street property was destroyed by fire this year, are baseless.

Lawyers for the city have filed papers that seek to have the suit by Akim Kambamba thrown out.

The suit, filed in the Court of King’s Bench in the spring, seeks $15 million, plus court costs, over the Jan. 14 fire in the vacant hotel at 655 Main St., which has since been demolished.

The company accused the city of breaching its duty to it and wrongfully evicting the tenants, who had been ordered out owing to numerous safety concerns last year.

City lawyers want a judge to throw out the claim and grant it court costs, arguing Kambamba’s lawsuit is an abuse of process and has no legal merit.

The city’s notice of motion, which is set to be heard in October, says Kambamba’s claim is vague and fails to set out facts that would give him a basis to sue the city.

“The claim in its entirety is scandalous, frivolous and vexatious,” reads the city’s filing.

“There is no nexus or connection between the alleged actions of the city and the claimed damages.”

The city owed Kambamba no duty based on what he claims in his lawsuit, or has no liability, or both, the city argues.

Kambamba’s company claims that one day before the fire, the city advised Kambamba 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 police to sweep the building first, but they refused. He conducted a “make believe boarding” of the Manwin.

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 a duty of care to the company by allowing the shelter to provide services that Kambamba claims hurt his operation.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service officials ordered the charred remains of the Manwin to be demolished while crews were still working to extinguish the blaze.

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

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Dan Lett | Not for Attribution

Tuesdays

A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world.

Sign up for Dan Lett | Not for Attribution

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

The hotel had been vacant since the city ordered residents — who occupied cheap, single rooms — to leave in January 2025 over numerous and severe safety hazards.

City officials were in the early stages of trying to expropriate the property when the fire erupted.

The owner had failed to address multiple outstanding permit requirements and compliance orders.

The fire remains under investigation.

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.