Houston African artwork auction abruptly canceled

There were high hopes for the Thursday morning auction. 

African art enthusiasts longed to catch a glimpse of more than 1,000 pieces and dreamed of the display possibilities. The building manager was optimistic about finally transforming the packed storage area into a conference room. And an attorney yearned for his clients to get at least some of their massive civil court settlement after years of back and forth with the owner of the artwork.

Those hopes were dashed after the owner, Sam Njunuri, filed an 11th-hour petition for bankruptcy Wednesday night, prolonging the controversy surrounding the African art once stored in a Harris County warehouse at taxpayer expense. 

The filing surprised and disappointed potential bidders, some of whom had flown in from out of state, only to show up at the southwest Houston office building and learn the sale had been canceled.

“It’s heartbreaking,” said Reginald Butler, an art enthusiast from Meyerland. “I’ve been waiting years to see something like this.”

The various wood and metal statues, carvings, masks and other objects that sat in the Harris County Precinct 1 warehouse in southeast Houston for several years were set to be auctioned off in a sheriff’s sale to satisfy a civil court judgment against Njunuri, in a real estate-related lawsuit stretching back to July 2017. 

The lawsuit was filed by two women who said they entered into a housing rental agreement with Njunuri who later changed the locks on the home and sold their belongings. A jury found the two were owed nearly $1 million in damages and legal fees.

State District Judge Rabeea Collier ordered the sheriff’s sale of the artwork last October.

The African pieces were set to be sold together with a minimum bid of $4,400. The new owner would have walked away with a clean ownership title and bill of sale — something that currently does not exist.

A Houston Chronicle investigation found Njunuri, a Houston real estate agent originally from Kenya, never produced any records proving he owns the works, nor any documents detailing the age, provenance or countries of origin for the pieces. Njunuri has said he wanted to create a museum or community center in Houston to display the art. 

The artwork also was at the center of a public corruption investigation involving Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis, whose office took possession of and stored the objects under curious circumstances in 2018. Ellis was cleared of wrongdoing by a Harris County grand jury in 2021.

Njunuri, who was at the Regency Plaza office building Thursday morning, declined to directly address reporters’ questions, directing them to business partner Stanley Reid.

Reid declined to discuss the bankruptcy filing or civil lawsuit and instead reiterated Njunuri’s long publicized hopes of creating a museum in Houston. 

Asked why a museum has yet to be established, Reid said there is no one specific answer and that creating a museum involves “money and resources.”

“Apparently, and for various reasons, that has not been availed as of this time,” he said. 

Wendy Atterberry, the building manager of Regency Plaza, said Njunuri owes more than $50,000 in rent. Reid denied that, saying he does not believe there is any “disharmony with the ownership of the building and rent being paid.”