Infinix recently launched its NOTE 12 Series at its elegant event at the Sarit Centre Expo, a trendy and contemporary location that aligns with the brand’s vision and mission. This is the first official product launch in 2022, since the Note 10 launch in Diani last year.
“At Infinix we are creating a new standard for high-quality smartphone performance and design especially with the new NOTE 12 Series, which represents impeccable form and function. This series packs quick-charging power and strong chipsets into an iconic design that is perfect for emerging professionals who need a light, flexible and high-performance device.” Infinix Country Manager, Mike Zhang.
In the coming days, the Note 12 VIP and Note 12 G96 will start rolling out in different Infinix outlets countrywide and major e-commerce platforms. “The Note Series has always been an important series which has evolved with every launch. Innovation is motivation for Infinix. We put all our efforts to make products and applications interesting and of great value. Our goal to innovate our products, especially in the NOTE series is to deliver users a fantastic operating and visual experience,” Infinix Country Manager, Mike Zhang.
Price and Availability:
The Note 12 Series will be available in 3 variants Note 12 VIP 256+8GB Ksh 41,999, Note 12 128+8 GB Ksh 27,999 and Note 12i 128+8GB Ksh 20,999 in Infinix outlets countrywide and online at Xpark.
A story published on the May 17th 2022 under the headline; “Centum Investment: Corporate Greed That Has Left 37,000 Shareholders At The Risk Of Losing Their Investments” falsely accused the CEO of Centum James Mworia of benefiting from the firm at the expense of the shareholders and falsely implicated the company for deviating from sustainable initiatives, for the good of its shareholders.
We have since established that the story was based on erroneous information. The misleading and malicious article was provided by former members of staff.
We’ve since verified and established that the information provided is not true and was intended to tarnish the image of Centum and its leadership.
We wish to unconditionally retract these erroneous and misleading story, and unreservedly apologise to Centum and the Group CEO, Dr James Mworia, for the misleading articles.
Directors and top officials of high end and mixed use real estate firm Tatu City and its main subsidiary Kofinaf are under investigation by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) over claims of money laundering and defrauding taxpayers of billions of shillings.
At the heart of the investigations are multi-billion transactions relating to the sale of thousands of acres by Tatu City in Ruiru, Kiambu County, without payment of taxes to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).
According to EACC, the firm is accused of undervaluing value of transactions which could amount to serious economic crimes.
The investigations are said to have unearthed illegal operations at the firm which has been at the centre of a vicious war pitting local investors and foreign billionaires. The latter own Rendeavour, the company that paid Sh2.4 billion and Sh7.56 billion to Socfinaf, a Belgian coffee and rubber producer, for the Tatu City and Kofinaf land, respectively.
Investigations began in 2018, but were stopped in 2019 by a court order. However, the probe has resumed after the anti-corruption court disallowed a plea from the officials to protect themselves from investigations.
Lady Justice Esther Maina dismissed a petition by the developers challenging the investigative mandate and powers of EACC to obtain information relating to their operations, effectively allowing the Twalib Mbarak-led Commission to probe the leadership of Tatu City.
Justice Maina ruled that EACC has the authority to investigate cases of suspected corruption, tax evasions and money laundering.
EACC described the latest development as “a major boost in the war against corruption”, adding that it would immediately resume investigations as guided by their mandate.
“We are keenly observing the unfolding events regarding this matter, we are guided by our mandate,” EACC spokesperson Yasin Amaro explained to the media in Nairobi.
EACC has named Stephen Jennings, the chief executive officer and founder of Rendeavour, the majority shareholder of Tatu City and Chris Barron, the country head, who has previously held the positions of chief operations officer, head of sales and operations manager, as persons of interest in the matter.
EACC has been pursuing Tatu City developers, a consortium of investors working on a 5,000-acre project hosting homes, schools, offices, a shopping district, medical clinics, nature areas, a sports and entertainment complex and manufacturing area for more than 150,000 residents and tens of thousands of day visitors.
Detectives suspect the developers have been running an enterprise that thrives on suspected money laundering and fraud in which the government has lost billions of shillings following accusations that they have been repatriating huge amounts from the sale of land to offshore accounts in Mauritius, Bermuda and Germany, without paying taxes.
Stephen Jennings, the chief executive officer and founder of Rendeavour, the majority shareholder of Tatu City.
However, Tatu City and Kofinaf directors argue the investigations were only aiding extortion, harassment and interference in favour of its disgruntled minority shareholders.
The disgruntled directors, they say in court papers, are Steve Mwagiru, a coffee farmer and his partners, Vimal Shah, chairman of Bidco Group, and Nahashon Nyagah, a former Central Bank of Kenya Governor, who co-own Manhattan Group.
Tatu City accuses the minority shareholders of trying to extort the legitimate owners of Tatu City and also harassing international shareholders “through influence of the Judiciary, police, immigration services and media” and that “all evidence of their actions has been turned over to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the EACC”.
Tatu also accuses Nyagah of attempting to fraudulently change the shareholding of Kenyan companies that own the land to his sister, driver and members of his church.
On the other hand, Shah…is accused of forging a letter without board approval, seeking to freeze Tatu City’s bank accounts while Mwagiru has been accused that, between 2010-2013, he sought to register caveats using a falsified Form CR12 to indicate that he and his mother were the sole shareholders and directors of Tatu City.
But EACC, according to court documents, accuses Tatu City of under-valuing property that it allegedly later transferred to related firms to allow payment of lower stamp duty tax equivalent to 2 per cent of land transfer value.
The land would later be transferred to newly-formed foreign registered companies as shareholders with the non-Kenyan firm disposing the plots at market value locally, ultimately escaping paying stamp duty because it is not listed in Nairobi.
In one such scheme, the EACC told the court that Tatu undervalued a property and sold it for Sh748 million to a local firm that moved it to a foreign company, which transferred the property locally at a market value of Sh4 billion but the State received stamp duty on Sh748 million and not Sh4 billion.
The alleged economic crimes claims against Tatu City were the subject of proceedings at the National Assembly, where minority shareholders told the Lands committee that the management has been under-declaring valuations in order to “swindle the Kenyan government of income tax” amounting to Sh1.5 billion and went on to give shocking examples which the management rubbished, saying KRA has no tax claim against Tatu City.
Mwagiru, in documents he tabled before the committee, said land title number 10887, which was sold at Sh842 million but whose entries at the Land ministry show that it fetched a paltry Sh235 million, title number 11287 was alleged to have been transferred to another firm at Sh330 million when the actual value was Sh1.3 billion resulting in a Sh38 million loss in stamp duty and Sh291.7 million in income tax.
Mwagiru also said title number 11428, which was under declared after it was marked as having been sold for Sh219 million when the actual value was Sh814.8 million.
Further, land number 11486 valuation was declared as sold for Sh340 million against its actual value of Sh1.19 billion while LR No 8749 was declared as fetching Sh2.7 million when the actual cost was Sh628 million while LR 248/1 &248/5 was declared as valued at Sh200 million when the actual cost stood at Sh1.17 billion.
The probe by EACC had gathered steam, with EACC writing three letters on September 30, 2018, September 24, 2018, and November 2, 2018, to the Ministry of Lands requesting it to be furnished with crucial information and documents regarding their transactions.
The letters, which were never executed due to court orders, touch on various land parcels which form Tatu City.
City management, however, argued that the implementation of the request would have ramifications on the ownership, transactions and use of the said land parcels.
The supremacy battle of bull grain handling between Mombasa oligarch Mohammed Jaffer and the Joho family has escalated.
According to the latest report, activist Okiya Omtatah has sued the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), seeking to have it compelled to issue him with a copy of the licence or permit issued to Portside Freight Terminals Ltd and Heartland Terminals Ltd to develop a second bulk grain handling facility in Mombasa. In a case likely to delay the project, Mr Omtatah accuses KPA of refusing to provide a copy of the licence or permit though the state is obligated under the law to publish the information.
The two companies are associated with the Joho’s family.
In his petition filed in the High Court in Mombasa, Mr Omtatah has also sued Portside Freight Terminals Ltd, Heartland Terminals Ltd and Portside CFS Ltd, and has named the Dock Workers Union as an interested party.
Governor Joho and his brother Abu (left).
The petitioner argues that the respondents are frustrating a public evaluation of the permit and violating his constitutional right and duty to be involved in a matter of significant public interest (procurement of the second bulk grain handling facility).
Mr Omtatah says that Executive Order No 2 of 2018 requires all procuring public entities to publish tender opportunities and contract awards through the Public Procurement Information Portal.
The petitioner also says that contrary to the order, KPA has not published on the portal a copy of the licence or permit it granted to Portside Freight Terminals Ltd and Heartland Terminals Ltd.
He also argues that the licence or permit was issued in violation of conservatory orders issued by the court in another petition that bound KPA not to act.
Mr Omtatah wants a conservatory order suspending the licence issued by KPA to the two companies to develop a second bulk grain handling facility pending the determination of his petition.
Parliament on bulk grain monopoly
Last year the Lawmakers raised an issue over the bulk grain handling monopoly and wanted KPAto fast track authorisation of design, development and implementation of more grain bulk handlers at the facility to enhance competition and optimise revenue collection.
In a report, the National Assembly Finance, Planning and Trade Committee took issue with the current monopoly enjoyed by the Grain Bulk Handlers Ltd, a private entity, and especially low tariffs that it is charged as compared to other grain bulk handlers, saying it is a technical barrier to trade and competition.
Mohammed Jaffer, owner GBHL.
Grain Bulk handles 98 percent of grains imported to Kenya according to the report.
“The current rates payable for grain bulk handling under the GBHL service is $3.85 (Sh422.7) per metric tonne as provided for in the KPA Tariff Book while conventional grain bulk handlers are charged $10.4 (Sh1,141) per metric tonne. This price differentiation has presented a technical barrier to trade and competition,” reads the committee’s report.
The tariffs were set in 2000 though they were marginally adjusted in 2008 and 2012.
Dry grain
KPA, through a Wayleave Agreement of 1992 for a period of 45 years and License Agreement entered in 2000 for 33 years, designated berths 3 and 4 to Grain Bulk Limited to handle grain bulk vessel discharge alongside the regular dry grain and fertiliser handling that utilises drags for bagged cargo. It is the sole operator for grain bulk handling at the Port of Mombasa.
As part of the 2000 agreement, GBHL was granted exclusive rights to handle the grain bulk business at the port for eight years to allow it to recoup its expenditure before the licensing of other handlers.
After the agreement expired in February 2008, the KPA board resolved to liberalise handling of grain at the port to eliminate monopoly and promote healthy competition but the search for a second grain bulk handler aborted after the government cancelled the tender ostensibly to allow for more stakeholder competition. KPA now plans to conclude the process by next year.
With grain handling at the Port of Mombasa projected to grow by seven percent annually, MPs concurred that there is need to licence more operators but hastened to add that the process must be fair, open, transparent and adhere to the Public Procurement and Disposal Act 2005 to ensure non-discrimination and accountability.
Reuters-Billionaire Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter for about $41 billion, just days after rejecting a seat on the social media company’s board.
Musk’s offer price of $54.20 per share, which was disclosedin a regulatory filing on Thursday, represents a 38% premium to Twitter’s April 1 close, the last trading day before the Tesla CEO’s more than 9% stake in the company was made public.
Twitter’s shares jumped 12% in premarket trading.
“Since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company,” Musk said in a letter to Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor.
“My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder,” Musk said.
Earlier this week, Musk said he had abandoned a plan to join Twitter’s board, just as his tenure was about to start. Taking the board seat would have prevented him from a possible takeover of the company. read more
Investigations into alleged money laundering and tax evasion by directors of Tatu City company will centre on 36 parcels of land.
Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission (EACC) intends to scrutinise all documents related to registration and ownership of the plots.
EACC wants the Director of Survey to provide it with original Registry Index Maps, survey plans, maps, computation files and deed plans for the affected parcels of land.
The are LR.Nos.11287, 11294, 11288, 10083, 10083/2, 10877, 11285, 11289, 11294, 11428, 11486, 117; and 247/1, 248/5, 111/1, 110/2, 113/1, 113/2, 7192, 7386, 8182, 28867, 91, 11538/2, 11536/8(104), 6906, 7787, 295/15, 5815, 248/1, 1337, 1842, 8810 and 8321.
The Ruiru-based firm, through majority shareholder Stephen Jennings, had moved to court protesting the move.
It sought orders to stop the agency from probing the properties, but lost the protracted case that started in 2018.
Dismissed petition
Last week, the High Court dismissed a petition by the developers challenging EACC’s investigative mandate and powers to obtain information relating to their operations.
Lady Justice Esther Maina, in her ruling effectively lifted conservatory orders issued in 2019. She concurred that EACC has powers to investigate matters touching on tax evasion and money laundering.
The sleuths have also been demanding for deed files, documents on the transfers, application forms for stamp duty, valuation reports, stamp duty receipts, official searches, rent clearance certificates, correspondence files, part development plans, computation files and survey plan for the land to facilitate their probe into alleged tax evasion and money laundering.
Aggrieved, Tatu City and Kofinaf directors — the two companies entangled in the dispute — sought court orders to have the anti-graft agency stopped from investigating them on grounds that it lacked powers to do so.
The directors also argued that allowing the agency to take these documents could scare away would-be clients since no one would be willing to buy land that has legal issues. “Once original documents are removed from the Land office, owners of the parcels of land cannot carry out transactions on the same,” Tatu City argued.
The giant company is also facing another suit involving former Kiambu Governor William Kabogo. Jennings has also accused him of blackmailing them (Tatu City) to surrender to him a five per cent stake in a section of the multi-billionshilling project, in May 2016 during his tenure as governor.
Kabogo claims to have acquired the land and paid Sh348 million to Rendeavour Services — a Tatu City shareholder — as part-payment for 100 acres. But Jennings has challenged him to provide any agreement or evidence of such payment.
The EACC had written three letters dated 30th September 2018, 24th September 2018 and 2nd November 2018 to the Ministry of Land seeking crucial information and documents on their transactions.
The letters, which were never acted on due to the court orders, touch on various land parcels which form Tatu City.
Royal Media Services owner SK Macharia has lost yet another bid to control the estate of his late son.
The media magnate had sought orders to reverse a decision which removed him as the administrator of the estate of his late son who died four years ago.
The estate is valued at Sh1.2 billion.
High Court Justice Mugure Thande has dismissed the application seeking to reverse a ruling last year, which removed him as administrator of the estate of John Gichia.
The Judge observed that the grants issued to Macharia in April 2019 were issued prematurely denying any interested party to raise objections to the proceedings.
“The issuance of the two grants before the expiry of the 30 days stipulated in the said Kenya Gazette notice rendered the grants illegal,” said the Judge.
Justice Mugure said adding that reversing the revocation, as sought by Macharia, would give new life to the grant, therefore, sanctioning an illegality.
High Court judge Stella Mutuku revoked letters granted last year, after Macharia’s grandson, Adam Kamau Macharia, moved to court in May 2020, seeking to stop his grandfather from administering the estate.
Adam told the court that he was a minor at the time the letters of administration were issued to his grandparents and that he was seeking a piece of his father’s wealth now that he was an adult.
“The circumstances dictate that this court relooks the issues of representation in this estate afresh and make appropriate orders after hearing the parties. It is also clear to me that as at the time the two grants were issued, the sole beneficiary was a minor,” Justice Mutuku said.
But the media tycoon went back to court arguing that he and his late son had interests in companies battling court cases.
He pleaded with the court to be given limited grant to administer the estate, arguing that there is no administrator to protect the assets of his late son, yet his company- Directline Insurance is also facing a flurry of suits at different courts.
Dr Macharia said he has also been sued as the administrator of the estate, in AKM Investments ltd, which owns 600,000 shares.
He says the estate should be protected, especially after his wife Serah withdrew as the administrator.
He further submitted that Adam was being used by his mother- Lisa Anyango to fight him.
The grandson opposed saying he had no legal capacity to administer the estate of his father. He said Dr Macharia was a man of means and was no dependent on the estate.
Justice Mugure said it would present an awkward situation were Dr Macharia as the administrator of the estate of his late son, would be defending suits filed by a company of which he is the chairman.
The suit also pointed to a rift in the family over the Sh1.2 billion estate after Gichia’s mother, Serah Njeri, withdrew from the application to administer the estate ‘for the sake of family’ unity and because her grandson was now over 18 years.
The estate had been put under their administration as grandparents of Gichia’s son, Adam, who was 16 years when Mr Gichia died in a road accident in 2018.
The estate comprise shares in more than six companies that have investments in insurance, communications and real estate.
The companies are listed as Directline Insurance, Serenity Media Productions Ltd, Big Five Conservancy, Bushfire Media Distributors, Toi Redevelopment and Harbour Capital Ltd.
Other properties are nine vehicles – two Range Rover cars, Land Rover, Jaguar, Jeep, Porsche 911, BMW, Trailer and Land Rover Discovery — four motorbikes and five residential houses in Nanyuki, Loresho (Nairobi), Kyuna crescent (Nairobi), Kibarage (Nairobi) and Mugumo crescent (Nairobi).
Adam resides in the Loresho house.
The registered owner of the properties is AKM Investments Ltd. Adam says the name of the company, AKM investments, was borrowed from initials of his name Adam Kamau Macharia.
Court papers indicate that at the time of his death, Gichia was the executive director of Directline Assurance Company and Adam occasionally worked there during school holidays.
Adam says he is aware Directline has 15 million shares distributed amongst 10 shareholders.
They include Janus Ltd, Sureinvest Company and Stenny Investments PTY Ltd holding three million shares each, calculated to be 20 percent each.
Other shareholders are Triad Networks (2,999,407 shares), AKM Investment (1,551,000), Royal Media Services (1,448,593) and Royal Credit Card (997).
Dan Karobia, Purity Gathoni Macharia and Samuel Kamau Macharia hold one share each translating to 0.0 per cent of the shares.
Adam says his father was the majority shareholder in Directline with over 70 percent of the shares.
Directline in May last year wanted Adam and his mother, Lisa Anyango Amenya, to hand over eight cars they claim were purchased using company funds but registered in the name of the company when the deceased was the executive director.
It also demanded the transfer of the Loresho house and other assets within 30 days.
In his opposition to appointment of his grandfather as administrator of the estate, Adam says that the tycoon was not a dependent of the estate and he (Mr Macharia) is a financially stable man.
Adam describes himself as the only son and sole beneficiary of the estate.
However, Mr Macharia told the court that Adam had made mistakes, including acting on incompetent advice.
“He is being used by my opponents in litigation (reference was made to other disputes pending in other courts). Adam is acting on mistaken belief that his late father, had proprietary interests in the assets of Directline Assurance Company Ltd in which his company AKM Investment Ltd was a shareholder,” said Mr Macharia.
Justice Mutuku also revoked another grant for March 11, 2019 issued to Mr Macharia alone.
The businessman had asked the court to revoke this grant and order investigations as to how it was obtained.
The questionable grant was purported to have been signed by Justice Aggrey Muchelule who stopped handling the matter in December 20, 2019.
The revocation of the two grants also followed applications by Ms Amenya and Mr Macharia’s children–David Karanja Macharia and Stella Nyanjiru Macharia.
Adam has a separate petition seeking to take full control of the estate since he has attained the adult age.
While revoking the grant of letters of the estate’s administration issued to Mr Macharia and Ms Njeri, the judge said the court approval ought not to have been issued.
Justice Mutuku declined to determine allegations raised by Adam that his grandfather lacked capacity to seek the grant because of bankruptcy.
The judge noted that the issue relating to Mr Macharia’s bankruptcy was alive in other courts.
“To avoid the situation where this estate is left without representation, this court allows parties to move with haste within 30 days and propose an administrator pending the hearing and determination of the pending applications,” directed Justice Mutuku.
If you’re an aviation enthusiast and follow much online, you’ll definitely know about Sam Chui. However, the KQ crew missed out on a good opportunity, struggling to stay on their feet, the loss making national airline, couldn’t recognize the influencer onboard and even at one point, the ground crew who’re generally rude and cruel, stopped him from filming the content for his blog.
Sam Chui is often referred to as the Godfather of Aviation Geekdom—and it’s a crown he can wear with pride.
As the most influential social media star in the airline and aviation sphere, he goes places most of us can never get to—and he does it with humility and a smile on his face.
He has flown with more than 240 airlines and in 180 different types of aircraft. On his Instagram, he says he’s flown more than 10,000 hours.
To put it into perspective, he flies around 150 times a year—or every 3 days on average. He’s been to every continent except Antarctica.
His favorite aircraft—because apparently, that’s something aviation people have—is the Boeing 747.
He’s had time to fine-tune his choice since he’s flown in a Boeing 747 more than 350 times.
And if you’re looking for trivia, here’s some: Sam Chui has been the top-rated photographer on airliners.net for several years.
For his love for Boeing, the influencer who took a safari trip in Kenya commented on his IG, “I flew with KQ B787 from Nairobi back to Dubai last week. I love Kenya and it’s very friendly people. I also love the KQ livery and its good service onboard. However, the food offering has room to improve. It was quite simple. Updating the IFE and adding Wi-Fi would be a great next step
forward.“
Food served to Chui that he describes as simplistic.
In a recorded video that he has since released on YouTube to his 2.9M subscribers, the Vlogger who flew on business class says the food is pathetic and not up to class.
The onboard crew was generally hospitable and good to him even the pilots allowing him to film from the cockpit.
”Sam Chui, the world’s most influential Aviation Vlogger, flew KQ from JKIA to Dubai a couple of days back and nobody recognized him, from the ground staff to the flight crew. The ground staff was particularly very rude to him. This is the most influential person in global aviation and nobody at KQ knows him? His experience was different on RwandAir, which gave him VIP treatment on his flight from Dubai to Kigali. He gave our national carrier an excoriating review on his channel which has close to 3 million subscribers. KQ is on an irrecoverable nose dive. Sad for an airline that was once the best in Africa.” Innocent Ngare, a Facebook influencer noted.
Watch the video below.
The East African aviation industry, like its counterparts globally, is having a tumultuous pandemic period. Revenue losses and reduced passenger numbers due to Covid-19 travel restrictions as well as uncertainty have hit the aviation sector hard, pushing some to the brink of collapse. Kenya’s loss-making national carrier Kenya Airways has not been spared and is in the midst of a restructuring.
National carriers like RwandAir, Uganda Airlines and Air Tanzania are providing more competition for Kenya Airways.
In December 2019, Qatar Airways and RwandAir signed a deal in which the Qataris would invest in a new airport on the outskirts of Kigali. Qatar Airways has a 60% stake in the airport, which was expected to have the capacity to handle 14 million passengers per year, double the capacity of Nairobi’s main airport.
Uganda also relaunched its national airline with an inaugural flight to Nairobi in August of 2019.
Kenya Airways is not known to have the best prices on any of its routes, and RwandAir has been exploiting that with its direct flights between Entebbe and Nairobi.
Kenya Airways has the most expensive tickets among airlines operating in Africa, charging more on average than carriers such as Ethiopian Airlines, South African Airways and Air France. A 2021 study by competition authorities representing a total of 24 African countries showed the national carrier risked losing market share to cheaper rivals like Ethiopian Airlines and new entrants, including RwandAir and Uganda Airlines.
Chui did a review of RwandAir and was quite positive.
In August 2020, just four months on the job as the airline CEO, Allan Kilavuka shared his growth plan for the national carrier post Covid-19 and he noted that the target was to reduce the company’s overall total fixed costs – not just staff costs – by about 50% in response to their revenue projections.
Fast-forward to 2021, the airline made a net loss of KSh11.4bn ($100.4m) during the six months period to 30 June 2021, down from a net loss of KSh14.3bn in the same period in 2020.
The reduction in losses was helped by the diversification of the business into cargo and charter flight operations as passenger numbers shrank.
Airline nationalisation
In 2020, the Kenyan government said it was opting to take over the airline by buying out the minority shareholders.
The government owns 48.9% of the airline, with a consortium of lenders holding 38% and Air France-KLM controlling 7.8%.
In September 2021, Kenya Airways chief executive Allan Kilavuka said nationalisation was not a panacea, but only part of the reform process.
Two years after the nationalisation plan was announced, the government scrapped the plan to fully nationalise the carrier in December 2021. It now plans to oversee the restructuring of the airline without taking it over.
IMF warnings
According to the IMF, it will cost a projected $1bn to restructure Kenya Airways. It argues that more financial backing from the government will be “unavoidable”. Nairobi has already issued guarantees for $750m of the airline’s debt.
“The authorities do not intend to nationalise the carrier and are considering appropriate mechanisms to protect the exchequer’s financial interests during the restructuring process,” IMF said.
Analysts say Kenya Airways needs a radical overhaul of its business model, given the challenges threatening the aviation industry in the post-pandemic environment, the IMF said. Changes required include cutting back on operations and staff, enhancing efficiency and renegotiating leases and suppliers’ contracts, it said.
The SAA partnership
Recently, Kenya Airways and South African Airways signed a memorandum of cooperation with the long-term goal of launching a pan-African airline group.
Both Airlines said the pact will enhance mutual growth potential by taking advantage of the strengths of the two carriers’ hubs in Johannesburg and Nairobi.
The companies say the pact will improve the financial viability of the two airlines. Customers will also benefit from more competitive price offerings for both passenger and cargo segments.
“This cooperation aligns with Kenya Airways’ core purpose of contributing to the sustainable development of Africa and is based on mutual benefits,” the airline’s chairman Michael Joseph said in November 2021. “It will increase connectivity through passenger traffic, cargo opportunities while enhancing the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement.”
Both Kenya Airways and South African Airways have been making losses for years. South Africa’s embattled national carrier emerged from bankruptcy in November 2021, flying its first plane in 18 months.
In March 2022, the company recorded a 56 percent drop in its net loss to Sh15.8 billion, a significant improvement from the record Sh36.2 billion net loss the airline recorded in 2020 on the back of global travel restrictions owing to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
This saw revenue for the year increase 33 percent from Sh52.8 billion to Sh70.2 billion as the number of passengers grew 25 percent to 2.2 million, while cargo ferried also grew 29 percent to 63,726 metric tonnes.
Equity Bank has been given a go ahead to sell houses belonging to real estate firm Suraya Property Group to recover its loans. This follows a ruling by the Court of Appeal on the prolonged battle that has seen several parties trying to take over the mansions in Kiambu.
The bench judge agreed with Equity Bank as a reputable lender and the real estate firm can still recover their money, in case the appeal, which is yet to be heard succeeds.
Justices Roselyn Nambuye, Hannah Okwengu, and Imaana Laibuta said the lender can auction the mansions subject to the issuance of fresh notices, as it was directed by the High Court in 2020.
The houses in dispute were constructed by China Wu-Yi company and financed by Equity Bank at a tune of more than Sh1 billion.
But the real state firm has been xperiencing financial woes after Muga Developers, a joint venture which is partly by Suraya was placed under receivership in 2020 by Equity Bank with Mr Muniu Thoithi and Mr George Weru being appointed as the administrators.
“The applicant having offered the suit property as security, it has become a commercial entity that can be compensated in monetary value,” the ruling reads.
The Fourways Junction Estate [p/courtesy]The court also noted that Muga Developers compeletly failed to demonstrate any efforts to pay back the loan. Equity has also failed in all its attempts to recover the millions it lent the developer to finance the housing scheme.
Suraya Property is owned by Peter Muraya and his wife Susan with whom he formed Muga Developers with the family of the late Samuel Gatabaki in 2007 to develop fourways junction estate. Gatabakis provided the land while Suraya was to source for funds to finance the development.
The luxarious estate which boasts of a mix of apartments, office blocks, a shopping mall, a fully-fledged country club and a three-star hotel is strategically located closer to the leafy Runda Estate.
China Wu-Yi which constructed the estate is also fighting to get some 10 houses as part of the payment for their services.
But Suraya Property has denied the claims stating that even if there was a deal to that effect, the property is charged to Equity Bank which granted the Sh1.76 billion loan to finance the project.
Three manufacturers have been suspended over production and sale of substandard roofing sheets contrary to specifications by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS).
The standards body says while conducting routine surveillance, it found the three, Haut International, Mwananchi Mabati Company Limited and Obor Technology Kenya Limited to be selling substandard galvanized roofing sheets which do not meet the KS EAS 11: 2019. Hot-dip Galvanized plain and corrugated steel sheets – specification and KS EAS 410: 2021. Hot-dip Aluminium-Zinc coated plain and corrugated steel sheets –specification.
“The test reports revealed that the weight of the coating metal used by some brands is way below what is stipulated in the Standard. This not only greatly compromises the quality and performance of the roofing sheet metal but also, manufacturers of these brands are undercutting their competitors, resulting in a very uneven playing ground,” said KEBS in a statement.
The three products brands by the firms include Haut Intl by Haut International, Mwananchi by Mwananchi Mabati Company Limited and Panda by Obor Technology Kenya Limited.
KEBS is also accusing some manufacturers of importing and processing roofing sheets whose widths are below specification a factor that deny customers value for money.
During the spotcheck conducted on Tuesday, KEBS also found some manufacturers who failed to label or properly label their products which it says is a major non-conformity since the absence of adequate marking leads to consumers not being able to make informed decisions when purchasing the product.
“KEBS therefore wishes to warn manufacturers, importers and retailers that KEBS market surveillance officers will seize any substandard roofing sheets found in the market. In addition, Standardization Mark Permits for the non-complying brands shall be suspended until corrective action is undertaken under supervision of KEBS,” said KEBS.
The bureau is now urging members of the public to report any cases involving suspected sale of substandard products which are likely to jeopardize consumer benefits.
A former Facebook content moderator in Kenya has put Mark Zuckerberg on notice of 21 days to iron out issues at the Nairobi office or face a lawsuit.
Daniel Motaung, the whistleblower from a report in TIME, sent a legal letter to Facebook and their outsourcing company in Kenya, Sama, telling them to make 12 big changes to improve conditions for moderators – or we’ll sue.
The office in Nairobi, Kenya, where Facebook content moderators began working in 2019, photographed on Feb 10, 2022. Sama was known publicly as Samasource until early 2021. Khadija Farah for TIME
“There is no doubt that Meta not only knew of Sama’s unlawful treatment of its employees but also ratified it in order to keep the cost of content moderation in Kenya low,” the demand letter says.
“This is regrettable and shows how little respect Meta has not only for human rights in general but also for the rights of Kenyans and Africans at large… It is not only discriminatory but also amounts to neo-colonialism in the worst possible form.”
The letter continues: “Sama’s dishonest branding as an ethical company committed to lifting the status of disadvantaged youth falls flat. Their business practices are not only immoral but also
unlawful.”
The letter says that Motaung’s lawyers are requesting the Kenyan government to revoke Sama’s license to operate as an outsourcing business in Kenya.
The list of demands, in full.
The letter adds: “SHOULD Meta and Sama fail to adhere to ALL our client’s demands within twenty-one (21) days of receiving this letter, we will institute a civil suit against both Meta and Sama.”
Screenshots credits Billy Peringo.
The letter accuses Meta and Sama of breaking section 45 of Kenya’s data protection act, by surveilling employees’ screen time during working hours.
And it accuses Meta and Sama of breaking section 5 of Kenya’s employment act, through discriminatory treatment, including pay discrimination and sub-par psychological support compared to content moderation offices in other countries.
Content moderation is essential to Facebook. It would go down overnight without it. But it is backbreaking, dangerous and poorly paid. Some moderators in Kenya were paid less than $2 an hour.
Their job is to sift through the social media posts of Facebook’s nearly 3 billion monthly users and remove posts that violate its rules – such as graphic violence, hate, and misinformation.
And it accuses Sama of breaking Kenya’s labor relations act in its handling of the unionization effort described in my story. The letter says Motaung was unlawfully terminated.
Sama fired Daniel after he began organising with his co-workers to form a trade union to fight for better conditions at his office in Nairobi. Not only is that despicable, it’s also against Kenyan law.
So much for a so-called ‘ethical AI company’
TIME revealed moderators from Kenya miss out on a monthly relocation bonus paid to staff from outside the country, worth $1.46 per hour, after tax. Bosses also warned Kenyan moderators they were more easily replaceable than staff from outside the country, which many took as a threat of being fired.
Sama had previously come under fire for its low wages. In 2018, company founder Leila Janah justified the levels of pay: “One thing that’s critical in our line of work is to not pay wages that would distort local labour markets. If we were to pay people substantially more than that, we would throw everything off.”
It also provides new detail on the consequences that Daniel Motaung suffered as a result of his work, including a PTSD diagnosis.
In his legal battle against Facebook supported by not-for-profit Foxglove. His confidence is fuelled by a legal settlement in 2020, in which 11,250 moderators from outsourcing company Cognizant received $52 million from Facebook in damages, including widespread symptoms of PTSD. This worked out to a minimum of $1000 of compensation, roughly enough to cover twenty hours of therapy. As a result, Facebook promised moderation tools such as muting audio by default and changing videos to black and white to minimise distress.
These latest revelations The about abuses at the content moderation centre in Nairobi, Kenya, expose a rot at the heart of Facebook.
On taking Facebook to court Daniel says, ““The violence I witnessed working for Facebook changed my life – I’m determined not to let Facebook damage others in the same way. I’m bringing this case for all the colleagues I left behind and for everyone who relies on Facebook to read the news and seek the truth. Facebook is one of the richest companies in the world and engages in colonial exploitation in Africa just to keep its profit margins high. And Sama, which claims to be ‘ethical’, is really a wolf in sheep’s clothing, exploiting impoverished Kenyans and other Africans under the guise of social uplift. We must force these companies to clean up their act.”
Absa Life Assurance Kenya (ALAK), an Absa Group subsidiary, has signed a product distribution agreement with Hisa Africa Insurance Agency.
Prior to this partnership, Hisa Africa only sold products for one other competing insurance company. This latest development demonstrates ALAK’s growing position and credibility in providing high-quality products and services that help Kenyans meet their financial goals, as well as their ability to collaborate with like-minded organizations to increase insurance penetration.
Speaking of this development, ALAK Managing Director WaiguruGithanji said: “At Absa Life Assurance Kenya, our commitment towards meeting the needs of customers is rooted in our purpose of bringing possibilities to life for our customers, which covers the whole process from product design, customer choice, ease of accessibility and delivery of promised benefits in an operating environment that is efficient, seamless and has the requisite controls.”
On his part, Hisa Africa Insurance AgencyChief Executive Officer, Alfred Mathu, said: “The insurance industry plays a significant role in the financial services sector in Kenya and supports Vision 2030. We also continue to support efforts to improve Kenya’s socio-economic status which will aid in raising the insurance penetration levels which have remained relatively low.”
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has come out to blame Keroche Breweries Limited for its failure to honour payment agreements involving billions of shillings in acrued taxes.
KRA on Tuesday said the Naivasha-based brewer has consistently failed to honour agreements reached between the two parties leading to the closure of its premises since February 1, 2022.
According to the taxman, KBL has been consistently collecting excise duty taxes levied on its alcoholic beverages without remitting it to the authority.
At the centre of the 15-years dispute is the Kshs. 351 million KRA says the brewer owes and which KBL says amounts to Kshs. 322 million contradicting the authority’s figure which led to closure of its premises.
“On the issue relating to Kshs. 351 million taxes due and prominently highlighted by Keroche Breweries Ltd as being the main reason that led to the recent closure of the premises, it is imperative to note that this is principal tax which Keroche withheld for the period January 2021 to date and has not remitted the same to KRA. This means that Keroche Breweries Ltd has been collecting Excise Duty Tax and VAT from its consumers through the sale of its products but has not been remitting the taxes to KRA,” said KRA.
KRA says, by December 14, 2021, this amount stood at Kshs. 279.96 million which Keroche offered to pay in instalments of Kshs. 20 million beginning January until October 2022.
Subsequntly, the brewer also agreed to pay another Kshs. 30 million in November and 49.96 million in December to clear the tax arrears.
Howevever, KRA says Keroche only paid Kshs. 10 million and dishonoured the agreement.
On her part, KBL Chief Executive Officer Tabitha Karanja on her official Twitter handle blamed KRA for frequent closure of its bremises in a bid to recover pending taxes.
“On 22nd December 2021 KRA re-opened, but unfortunately, the earliest our products could reach the market was on 27th December 2021. We only managed to sell for three days till the end of the year but KRA were on our case demanding for the arrears according to the payment plan. We remitted Kshs. 10 Million which was available in our accounts then, which to them was insufficient,” said Tabitha.
KRA now accuses KBL of mischief in honouring the tax obligations which the firm assessed and declared on its own in its monthly returns but but did not remitt.
“It can only mean that the Taxpayer may be using taxes collected to fund the company’s operations or for other private purposes,” said KRA.
The authority further accuses the brewer of not honouring payment plans agreed with the Keroche on current taxes and the taxes agreed under the Alternative Dispute Resolution process.
KRA adds, “The first plan agreed in July 2021 was not honoured, the second plan agreed on in December 2021 was also not honoured. Further in January 2022 Keroche requested for a review of the plan and the same was granted again in writing but still Not Honoured.”
Following push and pull involving courts, ADR and Tax Appeals Tribunal, KRA and KBL had agreed in December last year on a Ksh. 7.5 billion tax owing and payable, comprising principal tax of Kshs. 4.5 billion, penalty of Ksh. 66.9 million and interest of Kshs. 2.98 billion.
Keroche Breweries has since applied to the National Treasury seeking abandonment of taxes amounting to Kshs. 3.9 billion.
A secured creditor wants KCB appointed receiver manager Ramana Rao summoned over a report concerning the accounts of Mumias Sugar company, which he filed in court in January.
Vartox Resources Inc, one of the creditors of the ailing miller says Rao should appear in court and explain the books of accounts of the miller for the last two years.
In an application supported by rival West Kenya sugar company, Vartox also wants KCB group chief executive officer Joshua Oigara to appear in court for cross-examination.
Through lawyer Ismael Abbas, Vartox also claimed that Rao has failed to produce a detailed valuation report as ordered by the court.
Abbas submitted that it has become necessary for Rao to be cross-examined on the inconsistencies, falsehood and coverup that he has engaged in during his time as receiver manager of Mumias Sugar.
He said Rao’s recent actions to lease the assets of Mumias Sugar to Sarrai Group Limited is littered with inconstancies.
“As the applicant’s application dated January 28, 2022 is under insolvency Act 2015, there is no provision for a viva voce hearing unlike in civil cases and the applicant does not have ant way to question Rao on the many inconsistencies to bring him to account for his law as administrator and receiver of Mumias,” said Abbas.
He further submitted that Rao has conducted himself in a manner meant to disenfranchise other creditors and stakeholders of Mumias Sugar, who have a debt portfolio exceeding Sh30 billion.
Abbas said the affairs of Mumias are of significant public interest as held by the court in a ruling on 19 November 2021.
Senior Counsel Paul Muite, who represents West Sugar supported the application saying Rao and KCB should come and explain the inconsistencies.
West Sugar has challenged the lease to Sarrai Group wondering how as the highest bidder, the miller missed out on the 20-year lease.
“He should not only be removed as an administrator, his conduct makes him unsuitable for a receiver or administrator,” Muite submitted.
Muite questioned what Rao is hiding since he has not availed the lease documents as requested
He urged the court to direct Rao to produce all documents supporting every entry that appears in his “abstract” filed with the court on January 18, 2022.
Muite said other than cross-examination, the two should also produce all documents including e-mails, letters and all correspondence exchanged with Rao, all board resolutions and approvals given to the administrator in relation to the leasing of Mumias’ assets to Sarrai Group.
Rao was given the nod to lease Mumias Sugar after receiving bids from several entities.
“Rao has leased the Company’s sugar factory and related assets to the lowest bidder in circumstances that point towards fraud since the 20-year lease executed will expire with Mumias continuing to be mired in debt with its assets potentially wasted and the only financial beneficiaries of the 20-year lease are the lowest bidder and the 1st Respondent. None of Mumias’ historical debts will ever get repaid in those 20 years,” added lawyer Abbas.
Rao allegedly discarded the highest bidder’s bid on the basis that it would not achieve the goals of the lease which was to turn around the Company to profitability.
Rao proceeded to award the bid to the lowest bidder after carrying out a technical evaluation but which losing bidders say was marred by opacity and serious anomalies.
The lawyer said Rao has not explained to Vartox or any of the other creditor how a bid of Sh6 billion over a period of 20 years will revive Mumias whose debts are in excess of Sh30 billion.
“In attempting to justify his flouting of the court orders, the 1st Respondent has relied on provisions of the repealed Companies Act that no longer exist in law. He has attempted to justify filing an abstract because Section 351 of the repealed Companies Act provided for the filing of abstracts,” lawyer Abbas added.
He added that Rao needs to be cross-examined on the basis for his reliance on repealed statutes which impact on his competency to act as a receiver considering he is unable to follow simple court directions and is relying on repealed statutes to carry out his duties.
He pointed out that Rao spent more than Sh 71 million paying lawyers and unnamed consultants and has also procured valuation reports after paying Sh21.9 million.
“Despite requests to him to supply details of these payments and the valuation reports, Rao has ignored these requests”.
Rao, he said, operated Mumias’ assets as though Mumias is his personal property.
“Apart from operating the Ethanol plant when he had no mandate to because KCB’s security did not extend to the Ethanol plant, he has refused to account for any of the proceeds from the operation of the Ethanol plant,” he said.
“Furthermore, he has borrowed money through an overdraft from KCB to the tune of Sh216 million in unclear circumstances, thereby further compounding Mumias’ woes and increasing its debt portfolioand the interest alone on the KCB overdraft amounts to Sh. 23 million, a figure that is more than 1 months’ lease rental that is being paid by the lowest bidder.
He said Rao should be crossexamined so that he can explain in detail the borrowings, what he has used the money for and how it impacted Mumias’ balance sheet as well as when the applicant’s outstanding debt will be cleared based on the current lease to the lowest bidder”, he added.
No cross-examination
Last momth, PVR Rao opposed calls by creditors of the miller to be cross-examined over its accounts for the last two years.
Two creditors- a lawyer who previously acted for the company and who is owed Sh96 million and a supplier, sought to cross-examine Mr Rao over the accounts he filed in court last month.
Lawyer Jackline Kimeto wanted Mr Rao to answer questions surrounding professional and legal fees, which run into millions of shillings, donations, public relations expenses, security costs amounting to more than Sh150 million, repairs and maintenance of the distillery and the factory, among others.
It is also her view that the money the receiver generated in the last two years should have paid KCB’s debt.
Another law firm, Wekesa and Simiyu Advocates also wants Mr Rao to demonstrate the time frame that the highly contested lease will take to repay KCB’s debt.
Also sought is a copy of the evaluation criteria prepared at the time of making the invitations for bids to lease the assets of the company and Mr Rao’s charges per year, since his appointment as the receiver up to December 31, last year.
“Please furnish copies of the consents procured by yourself and the successful bidder from the Competition Authority and the Capital Markets Authority and any other statutory bodies as condition precedents prior to entering any lease and handing over the company assets to Sarrai Group,” the letter adds.
Mr Rao awarded the 20-year lease to Sarrai Group in December but several bidders have challenged it in court.
Wekesa and Simiyu advocates wrote a letter to Ramana Rao demanding the manager to demonstrate the time frame in months and years that the highly contested lease will take to “extinguish the lawful indebtedness of Mumias Sugar Co.Legal battle over the Mumias Sugar Company lease award continues to rage on,with Wekesa & Simiyu Advocates law firm now demanding a copy of the lease agreement entered between the receiver-manager Ponangipalli Venkata Ramana Rao & Sarrai Group in December, 2021.
Mr PVR Rao, the administrator of Mumias Sugar, told the High Court that it is not correct to assume that the highest financial bid should have won the 20-year lease, but he had to consider the technical aspects, besides the financial proposal.
His lawyer, Senior Counsel Kimani Kiragu, said it was his considered opinion that West Kenya, which bid Sh36 billion for Mumias, was not interested in the revival of the miller but intended to stall the operations to ensure it continues to enjoy the monopoly in the sugar industry.
“I clearly indicated that the bids I received would go through both technical evaluation and financial evaluation. It is not correct to proceed, as West Kenya and Tumaz & Tumaz have done, on the basis that the highest financial bid alone would be the winner,” Mr Rao said in an affidavit.
Mr Kiragu further said West Kenya failed to demonstrate how it would pay Sh150 million per month, and Sh1.8 billion per annum, for the lease as captured in its financial bid.
In the affidavit, Mr Rao said he was aware that the Rai Group, which is linked to West Kenya, took over Pan Paper Mills Limited in Webuye in 2016, but the paper-making company has not been in operation for more than 11 years.
The court heard that the bid was for the leasing of assets for 20 years, and not for a sale, as mistaken by farmers and suppliers who filed the case challenging the lease to Sarrai Group.
Mr Kiragu said the Mumias Sugar assets are mainly industrial and are prone to degradation due to corrosion if they are left non-operational for a long time.
He disputed claims that he rushed the process but took about a month to finalise the evaluation and award the lease to the Sarrai Group.
He said Tumaz & Tumaz a company associated with businessman Julius Mwale was trying to fill the gaps in its bid by submitting a fresh one through the court case, and that the company was trying all means to scuttle the process by filing the court cases.
Jaswant Rai of West Kenya has faulted the lease saying the bidding process was shrouded in secrecy and lacked accountability and transparency.
Pulling back revival of Mumias Sugar
When lawyer Jackline Kimeto filed an insolvency petition against Mumias in April, 2019, she was hopeful that her move would pressure the miller into paying her Sh76 million debt.
The miller’s shame
Ms Kimeto had defended Mumias in a suit filed by Kenya Power in 2015, seeking Sh1.1 billion in unpaid electricity bills. She also handled other cases for the company.
But her petition pulled a thread that would eventually undo the seams holding together what was left of Mumias’ clothing, exposing the miller’s shame: It was flat broke and headed down the murky waters of bankruptcy.
More than 80 creditors joined the insolvency suit. Five months later, KCB placed Mumias under receivership. The lender appointed Ponangipalli Venkata Ramana Rao as receiver manager.
On September 25, 2019, the NSE suspended trading of Mumias’ shares on account of the receivership. Mr Rao’s first move was to fire all 900 workers as he started reviewing the miller’s books and operations. The number of staff was a pale shadow of Mumias’ heyday, when more than 9,000 people were on its payroll.
Unhappy with KCB’s move, Ms Kimeto filed an application challenging the manner in which the lender placed Mumias under receivership. She filed a second application seeking to have an administrator appointed to take over the miller’s management.
High Court judge Mary Kasango issued orders temporarily barring Mr Rao and KCB from selling or transferring Mumias’ assets, pending determination of Ms Kimeto’s application.
As the lawyer’s application was still lingering in legal red tape, a section of creditors was growing disgruntled with Mr Rao and KCB. They felt that the receiver manager was biased towards KCB at the expense of other creditors.
Creditors resolved in an October 16, 2019 meeting to have an administrator who would be answerable to anyone owed money by the collapsed miller.
Barely three weeks later, Mumias lenders met with representatives of the Kakamega County government and resolved to form a steering committee that would oversee the revival of the miller.
The committee was to have Ashitiva Mandale, George Kashindi, Lynette Okiro and Ms Kimeto. The final slot was reserved for a representative of the National Treasury. The group would work with Mr Rao.
When Mr Rao took control, the firm had not produced sugar for more than a year. More than 25,000 farmers dumped Mumias over non-payment of their dues. Strangely, ethanol had become the biggest and only reliable source of income for the miller.
Blessing in disguise
The receiver manager halted the remaining operations, pending a restructuring process that would be guided by a detailed review of issues affecting the company.
On March 15, 2020, President Kenyatta announced a partial economic shutdown after Kenya reported her second and third Covid-19 cases. It was doom for most companies.
But for companies like Mumias, it was a blessing in disguise because ethanol suddenly became the most sought after raw material because there was not enough hand sanitiser to satisfy the local demand.
Even the police were surrendering ethanol confiscated from illicit brewers to make more sanitiser. Mumias had resumed ethanol production one month before the partial economic shutdown. At some point, the miller was producing 150,000 litres of ethanol a day.
There was, however, a pause between December 2020 and February 2021 following a molasses shortage. Mr Rao eventually sourced for molasses from rival millers and resumed the ethanol production.
Mumias also received a huge boost from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), which opted to waive a Sh11 billion tax bill, a huge chunk of the miller’s debts. In April last year, Mr Rao said he intended to lease out Mumias’ assets for a 20-year period that would ensure the miller’s survival and repayment of debts.
Tycoon Narendra Raval emerged as the most interested candidate through his Devki Group of Companies. Court proceedings would later reveal that the Devki Group had placed a Sh60 billion bid for the 20-year lease. But Mr Raval’s firm did not want the public scrutiny that stakeholders were demanding and withdrew the bid on June 4.
Mr Rao was then summoned by the Senate to explain the leasing plans. He revealed that he had sourced for potential strategic investors.
The companies he had approached were the Devki Group, Catalysis Group (Russia), Sarrai Group (Uganda), Kruman Associates (France), Kibos Sugar, Third Gate Capital Management, Godavari Enterprises and Premier JV (India).
On June 18, activist Okiya Omtatah filed a suit at the High Court’s Constitutional and Human Rights Division in Nairobi seeking to have Mr Rao removed, and the National Treasury compelled to revive Mumias.
Conflict of interest
He argued that Mr Rao had acted unprofessionally by failing to explain the formula used to settle on the eight bidders. He also raised a potential conflict of interest on the receiver’s past dealings with the Devki Group.
Mr Rao had sold scrap metal to Devki Group while managing affairs of Kwale Sugar during a past receivership spell. Mr Omtatah also argued that Mr Rao had failed to issue any specific details to the public on Mumias’ state of affairs since taking over as receiver manager.
Devki Group Chairman Dr. Narendra Raval.
After Mr Rao conducted a fresh tendering for leasing, Mr Omtatah successfully sought orders compelling him to file financial statements and bids placed by the bidding companies. The documents would reveal that Mr Rao settled for the third lowest bid price of Sh6.2 billion, floated by Uganda’s Sarrai Group.
One of Mumias’ key suppliers, Gakwamba Farmers Cooperative Society, would join Mr Omtatah in protesting the manner in which Mr Rao was handling the deal.
Gakwamba filed a suit in the Commercial & Admiralty Division of the High Court in Nairobi on August 2 last year, faulting Mr Rao for entering negotiations with Devki Group and sought orders barring any deal.
“Mr Rao and KCB have not carried out an objective cost-benefit analysis to determine whether the so-called strategic investor is the most effective way of reviving MSCL and ending the suffering of its sugar farmers and other stakeholders,” the society argued.
Gakwamba owns 1,000 ordinary Mumias shares. Farmers under the group are also owed over Sh25 million for cane supplied. The group argues that Mr Rao should not be allowed to lease out Mumias assets through private treaty, and only a process accessible to the public should be implemented.
Justice Wilfrida Okwany agreed with the farmers. On September 23, the judge ordered that Mr Rao open bids in the presence of all bidders. Interestingly, the bids remained a closely guarded secret before Mr Omtatah later secured orders compelling Mr Rao to file the information in court.
Three days after the farmers filed their case, Mr Rao advertised a fresh procurement process for the leasing deal. Not all were happy with the move. Lawyer John Khaminwa had at this point joined the insolvency petition against Mumias. He is owed money by the miller, but wanted to support its revival rather than liquidation.
On September 16, Mr Khaminwa filed an application in the insolvency suit seeking to have Mr Rao cited for contempt of court. The lawyer argued that the court orders stopping sale and transfer of the company’s assets also covered leasing deals, hence Mr Rao was in violation.
Insolvency suit
Mr Rao and KCB opposed the application, holding that during the lease period all assets would still be owned by Mumias. A week later, KCB and Mr Rao filed an application in the insolvency suit, seeking to stop the Senate from further summoning them or interfering with the Mumias receivership.
The two argued that the Senate was interfering with their rights by giving instructions on how to handle the collapsed miller’s affairs. The Senate had on September 29 – a day before Mr Rao and KCB filed their application – requested the receiver manager to comply with the court orders.
Justice Alfred Mabeya had taken over the insolvency suit, and delivered one ruling to handle four applications – Ms Kimeto’s seeking to stop selling of Mumias assets, her request for appointment of an administrator, Mr Khaminwa’s contempt of court allegations and Mr Rao’s bid to stop Senate summons and directions.
In his November 19, Justice Mabeya agreed with Ms Kimeto on the need for an administrator. He, however, appointed Mr Rao the administrator while upholding his role as receiver manager.
The judge held that the Senate had not done anything to indicate interference, as it had only sought clarity from Mr Rao and requested that he comply with court orders. But the judge issued orders barring the Senate from directing Mr Rao on how to conduct business in his receiver manager capacity.
Mr Khaminwa’s contempt of court application was also dismissed, as Justice Mabeya ruled that the leasing would not lead to a sale or transfer of Mumias assets. “Mr Rao is at liberty to proceed with the process of leasing the Company’s assets subject to strict observance of the Competition Act, 2010 Laws of Kenya,” the judge said.
The fresh bidding round attracted six companies. The Jaswant Rai family’s West Kenya Sugar proposed Sh36 billion and became the highest bidder following the Devki Group’s exit.
Tumaz and Tumaz Enterprises, owned by Butere-based businessman Julius Mwale, was the second highest bidder with Sh27.6 billion. A group of French and Turkish investors, through Kruman Finances Limited, bid Sh19.7 billion.
The Sarrai Group, owned by Jaswant Rai’s brother Sarbi, bid Sh6.2 billion. Only Kibos Sugar and Pandhal Industries had lower bids than Sarrai’s as they each wanted to pay Sh5.9 billion. The Sarrai Group got an early, but short-lived Christmas gift as Mr Rao declared the Ugandan firm the best bidder on December 22.
The firm was to take over Mumias operations, excluding ethanol production. Rumours of disgruntled bidders threatening court action started flying almost immediately. Tumaz and Tumaz Enterprises was the most vocal, stating that it was one of the highest bidders.
Kakamega County filed a suit at the Vihiga High Court seeking to stop Mr Mwale’s firm from interfering with Mr Rao’s decision.
Highest bidder
Mr Rao filed a similar suit in Nairobi, arguing that Mr Mwale was planning to disrupt his plans to rescue Mumias through the leasing deal. On January 14 this year, five farmers challenged Mr Rao’s decision to pick Sarrai, arguing that the receiver manager conducted an opaque process.
Lambert Lwanga Ogochi, Augustino Ochacha Saba, Prisca Ochacha, Robert Mudinyu and Wycliffe Barasa Ngong filed yet another suit. Justice Wilfrida Okwany issued orders barring Sarrai Group from starting operations.
West Kenya, Tumaz and Tumaz Enterprises, Gakwamba Farmers Cooperative Society and Mumias Outgrowers Company have since been enjoined in the suit. West Kenya maintains that it was the highest bidder but was unfairly locked out.
In response, Mr Rao argues that in overlooking West Kenya, he was following Justice Mabeya’s orders to comply with competition laws. He argued that if West Kenya would have acquired the lease, the Rai family-owned firm would have become a monopoly in the sugar industry.
The receiver manager adds that West Kenya had several cases against former workers and competitors, and that the Rai family firm did not submit a detailed investment plan in the bid.
Gakwamba Farmers claim that the five farmers who obtained orders stopping Sarrai from proceeding with the leasing deal are strangers sponsored by West Kenya.
In the insolvency petition, Dubai-based Vartox Resources Inc and Ms Kimeto have also challenged Sarrai’s leasing deal, arguing that the process was opaque and intended to benefit only KCB and Mr Rao.
The two argue that Sarrai’s Sh6.2 billion bid was not sufficient to pay Mumias’ debts, yet other firms would have cleared the miller’s liabilities in less than 10 years.
Vartox says that Mumias owes it Sh6 billion, which was secured with the miller’s ethanol plant. The Dubai firm holds that Mr Rao has refused to acknowledge its rights to the plant despite several notifications.
The plant is also collateral for loans that Ecobank and France’s Proparco issued to Mumias. Ecobank, Proparco and Vartox appointed Harveen Gadhoke as the plant’s receiver manager.
All focus is now on the case filed by the five farmers. Justice Okwany will hear the parties on March 14. Orders seeking to stop the Sarrai Group from taking over Mumias operations will lapse on the same day.
All was well for Jean Francois Damon, 72, as he enjoyed his stay in the country having invested over Sh200 million in Soysambu Conservancy.
An optimistic Damon arrived in the country in 2006 and negotiated a lease agreement with the Delamere Estate Limited to establish the Sleeping Warrior Lodge under Mawe Mbili Company Ltd.
His ex-wife, Jacqueline Mack, was a shareholder in the company that managed the exclusive lodge.
All was well between the two as construction of the the hotel began in 2008 and was completed three years later, and operations began.
Business at the lodge that was located in the heart of Soysambu Conservancy was booming until September 2015, when Jacqueline filed for a divorce at the Naivasha Law Courts.
She claimed that their marriage had irretrievably broken.
Naivasha Chief Magistrate Kennedy Bidali granted the divorce and with a stroke of the pen, the two lovebirds who were married in France on June 29, 1974, in accordance with the French law in the town of Hall of Lassay Sur Croisne, were divorced.
However, in the middle of the divorce proceedings, Damon’s troubles began when he was arrested on allegations of sodomy.
The charge sheet read that he sodomised JLL on December 26, 2013, at Lee Rose Brothers estate in Gilgil.
And on August 14, 2015, Damon was arrested by CID officers from Naivasha. He was told that a warrant of arrest had been issued against him over allegations of sodomy.
The charge sheet was registered on September 23, 2015, but Damon was absent.
However, contrary to the charge sheet, JLL in his statement recordedat Naivasha police station said that he was raped on December 24, 2011.
20-year-old man John Lempoe confessed he was being sodomised by Jean-Francois Damon.
After spending one night at the Naivasha Police station, Damon was asked to pay Sh140,000 as cash bail.
On August 17, he went back to the police station with an alibi, the ex-Manager Mawe Mbili Company, Lawson Kinayia, who recorded a statement with CID indicating that Damon could not have raped anybody on the date indicated on the charge sheet because he was busy at the lodge and was with him all day with a large number of guests just after Christmas.
In September 2015, Damon, convinced that he was framed, filed a suit challenging his prosecution.
He argued that his constitutional rights had been infringed but Judge Christine Meoli on April 14, 2016, dismissed his suit.
Following the ruling, Damon left for France. Between March 8, 2017, and December 2020, Damon was in and outside the country.
In December 2020 while in Kenya, he heard that detectives were looking for him as there was a warrant of arrest.
He presented himself to the DCI in Nakuru, and was taken to court the same evening. He took a plea and was released on a cash bail of Sh50,000.
Damon on December 6, 2020, wrote a letter to the Director of Public Prosecution, Noordin Hajji claiming frustrations and despair from the charges. He noted that the case was withdrawn in September 2016 and his accusers had sworn statements saying charges levelled against him were false.
But detectives in the case had declined to prosecute the case and or close the file despite overwhelming evidence of his innocence.
“I want my freedom back and my name cleared of these false accusations and I know and believe that any reasonable prosecutor looking at the file independently without outside influence will come to a similar conclusion, that the matter is fake,” read the letter.
We’ve established that there were attempts by JLL and his witness to withdraw the statement which failed to bear fruits.
Documents seen indicate that JLL had tried to withdraw the charges and on July 11, 2018, he swore an affidavit. He said that in 2013, he was employed as a guard at the lodge but was dismissed by Damon.
He said upon his dismissal he was approached by Jacqueline, the Manager of Sleeping Warrior Lodge, who offered him a deal.
In the deal, JLL was to record a statement with the police implicating Damon in illicit sexual relations with him and in return he would get his job back.
“Out of desperation and the deep hatred I felt against Damon for terminating my employment, I played along with the wicked plan and proceeded to sign an already prepared statement,” he stated in the sworn affidavit.
He said he sincerely regrets his decision and action of signing the statement and confirmed that Damon was innocent of the charges.
Priston Pushati, a witness in the case, also swore an affidavit stating that Damon was innocent of the charges.
The case was registered afresh in Naivasha with the charge of rape, and an alternative count of indecent act with an adult.
JLL again on February 8, 2021, swore an affidavit seeking to withdraw the case claiming he was married and with a young family.
Damon, through lawyer Charles Langat did not object to the said withdrawal but Senior Principal Magistrate J Karanja sitting in Naivasha on April 22, 2021, declined the request for withdrawal.
Regional DPP Daniel Karuri requested the file following a complaint by Damon vide letter dated April 29, 2021.
“After carefully perusing the said file, I have noted that the complainant in his statement stated that the offence occurred on December 26, 2011 but he reported the same four years later.”
Karuri said JLL’s age had not been conclusively established to be 17 years at the time of the offence since there were conflicting medical reports.
Following the directive by Karuri, the matter was mentioned on July 16, 2021, when the prosecution sought to have the case withdrawn. Damon was discharged.
One of the leading hospitals in the country that offers affordable healthcare to thousands of Kenyans has been hit by internal wrangles and a financial crisis that has crippled its daily operations.
Court papers reveal that Guru Nanak Hospital has made losses of at least Sh300 million in the last four years and it’s unable to comfortably pay salaries of key staff, some of whom have opted to sue.
The hospital is owned by the East African Ramgarhia Board (EARB), a religious society that the Sikh community has used to run several social responsibility projects since 1985.
The EARB collects funds from several members of the Sikh community from around the world.
Canada-based EARB member Jasvinder Singh Bilkhu claims that EARB Secretary-General Manminder Singh Jandu has brought Guru Nanak to its knees through mismanagement and negligence.
Sh576 million
Mr Bilkhu argues that when Mr Jandu took over in 2018, Guru Nanak was operating with a surplus of Sh576 million. In three years, however, the hospital has exhausted its surplus funds and has a Sh300 million loss.
While the High Court has dismissed a case Mr Bilkhu had filed seeking Mr Jandu’s removal, the filed documents reveal that all is not well. Mr Bilkhu argues that Mr Jandu’s continued stay in office could sink Guru Nanak into a deeper hole.
But Justice Anthony Mrima said the High Court could not delve into the dispute before internal mechanisms at EARB had been exhausted.
The judge held that no evidence in the court file suggested that Mr Bilkhu had exhausted internal mechanisms to resolve the dispute.
Neither Mr Jandu nor Guru Nanak defended the suit.
Interestingly, one of the grounds Mr Bilkhu raised in court was that the hospital failed to defend a separate court case, which led to Guru Nanak losing and being auctioned to recover Sh19 million.
The court papers do not, however, give details of the case that led to attachment of the hospital’s assets.
Sh300 million loss
Aside from the Sh300 million loss, Mr Bilkhu argues that Guru Nanak has for the first time in its history been forced to borrow money, which he insists is a sign of mismanagement.
Guru Nanak borrowed Sh50 million from EARB and Mr Bilkhu says the loan was taken without approval through an annual general meeting.
Court papers indicate that the loan could have been taken to pay doctors’ salaries.
The EARB constitution provides that such loans can only be taken after members pass a resolution at an AGM.
“Mr Jandu, after his election, has increased the payroll of the hospital from Sh8 million to Sh12 million and with the benefits amounting to Sh50 million. The radiology department, which was prior to the election of Mr Jandu earning Sh5 million in sales, now makes an average of Sh3 million and its expenses are borne by the hospital,” Mr Bilkhu said in court papers.
Financial muscle
“The financial muscle of the hospital has gone down, the hospital cannot pay its suppliers and Mr Jandu has been forced to procure medicine from subcontractors who are charging 10 per cent to 40 per cent more for the same drugs,” he added.
Mr Bilkhu has also accused Mr Jandu of failing to respond to queries by EARB members who are concerned about the hospital’s state of affairs.
He attached as evidence a letter that another EARB member, Mr Jaspal Singh Birdi, sent to Mr Jandu seeking clarification on management issues.
Mr Bilkhu said the secretary-general did not respond to the letter.
Mr Bilkhu also said Mr Jandu was irregularly in office as he had failed to call for AGMs in 2019 and 2020.
Justice Ndung’u held that for the courts to hear such a case, the suing party must apply for exemption from exhausting internal dispute resolution mechanisms.
A contractor has protested plans to demolish a Sh1 billion building belonging to MultiChoice Kenya, which is subject to an ongoing court dispute.
Cementers limited questioned wondered who had authorised the demolition of the building situated along Oloitoktok Road at Kileleshwa, Nairobi.
In a public notice, the company through Nderitu & Partners warned anyone from offering the demolition services.
Nderitu said the building might be required as exhibit in a criminal case where four people are charged with conspiracy to defraud MultiChoice Kenya by intentionally altering the structural Integrity investigation report on a proposed construction of an office block for the company.
MultiChoice later sent a statement saying it was following directions to bring down the building because it was dangerous.
“The proposed MultiChoice Kenya Offices of which Cementers Limited was the contractor, are being demolished pursuant to Enforcement Notices issued by the County Government of Nairobi condemning the said building and requiring its immediate demolition due to safety concerns,” the payTV company said in a statement.
MultiChoice said the exercise is being carried out with utmost professionalism and care to the workers involved and the communities neighbouring the site.
“The Building is not an exhibit in any of the ongoing civil, arbitral and criminal cases between the parties,” MultiChoice said.
In the statement, senior counsel Wilfred Nderitu, however said the building may be required in evidence in the said criminal case and that it would therefore be a criminal offence to wilfully destroy or demolish it or render it incapable of identification in its current state with intent to preventing it from being used in evidence in the criminal case.
” Any person who might have responded to the RFQ is hereby put on notice about the risks involved in accepting any offer by Multichoice to act as Project Manager in the demolition of the building”, said the law firm.
The public was further notified that Multichoice has in the past attempted to offer the building for sale. Any potential buyers of the building are similarly put on notice.
Multichoice Kenya directors in court for fraud charges.
The law firm says that there was a request for Quotations (RFQ) sent to a restricted number of persons or entities by Multichoice Kenya Ltd (“Multichoice”) via e-mail last week and in the RFQ, Multichoice sought to hire “a Project Manager to oversee and manage its upcoming project of demolishing its building situated along Oloitoktok Road at Kileleshwa, Nairobi” and gave a deadline of midday on Friday, February 18, 2022 for responses to the RFQ.
Among those charged in court are Wilson Munyu Karaba, Stanley Kibathi, an architect and city lawyer Lavender Lucky Waindi appeared before Milimani Chief Magistrate Wendy Kagendo. They denied the charges. A fourth suspect, Eugene Kariuki Muchemi has so far has failed to appear in court to plead to the charges.
Waindi is Advocate and Head of Legal Compliance at MIH East Africa Limited, a Multichoice affiliated company).
Waindi is accused that on April 6, 2017 at unknown place incited Kariuki Muchemi to extract part of the structural Integrity investigation report on proposed construction of Office block for Multichoice Kenya ltd.
They are accused of internationally altering a structural integrity investigation report on proposed construction of the office, an offence they allegedly committed on diverse dates between February 1 and April 13, 2017 at unknown place.
The accused persons include directors of Interconsults Engineers ltd, Connapex Consulting Engineers ltd, S.K Archplans and Head of legal at MIH East Africa. The charges stated that they jointly conspired together to defraud Cementers Kenya ltd.
The said report was in favor of the structural engineers, Connapex Consulting Engineering ltd against Cementers Kenya ltd and to demand damages of Sh895 million from Cementers Kenya ltd.
Cementers Limited is associated with Ramesh Kurji Visram. He says he has lost a lot from the bad reputation in the case with many contracts passing him.
The low-cost airline Fly540 that has fir time now been struggling to get its wings up in the air owing financial struggles has nosedived into problems with the Kenya Airport Authority(KAA) and Kenya Revenue Authority(KRA) over alleged defaulted payments running into millions to the two agencies.
According to sources, Fly540 owes KAA Sh18M as an accumulation of rent arrears while KRA demands from them Sh100M due to unremitted taxes.
It has emerged that the carrier has been playing cat and games with the taxman for a longtime.
NHIF Remittance
Another scandal that has been unchecked, some of the ex-employees talking to this writer alleged that despite being deducted from their salaries, they were shocked that their NHIF contributions were not remitted. These allegations are subject to investigations to ascertain as records exists and can easily be retrieved.
The airline’s CEO Don Smith has however dismissed the claims against him opining that his enemies are behind his ‘media attacks’ praying for his downfall.
In a statement that clearly targeted the jet carrier, Smith wondered why their competitor was not subjected to similar tribulations.
According to the besieged CEO, their rival Jambojet owes KAA close to Sh1B.
”We know KQ which also owes Sh17B has issues but why is Jambojet not allowed to pay KAA. It’s anti-competitive.”
It is of importance to note that the bitter rivals, Fly540 and Jambojet, are both low-cost airlines which started operations in 2006 and 2004 respectively.
Spotcheck at Fly540 offices at Watermark Business Park in Karen corroborated allegations of low staff morale among staff due to late salary payments and poor working conditions.
It has emerged that the current standoff with KAA that has led to Fly540 employees at the airports being denied security passes.
”Our officers at the airports now operate at the mercy of friendly security guards who sneak them in despite orders from KAA for our team not to be issued with security passes,” said an inside source.
An exper however, described the situation as high-level security breach given that Kenya is one of the countries targeted by terrorists and such mistakes with a potential large repercussions shouldn’t be entertained.
Smith further denied the allegations and stated that his employees’ security passes were up to date, adding that their salary is promptly paid every month.
An accountant at Fly540 only identified as Dion acknowledged the existing bad blood between the carrier and the two bodies, KAA and KRA over the controversial non-cleared balance.
He revealed the existence of multiple email communication in attempt to settle the matter amicably.
The current happenings are reminiscent of previous incidents that saw Fly540 embroiled in tough legal duel with the two bodies.
For instance in 2015 case in which the carrier lost a bid to challenge a Sh101M charge fir air navigation services and regulatory fees for November 2011 to August 2012.
Five Forty Aviation Limited which operates Fly540 has moved to court after Kenya Civil Aviation Authority(KCAA) slapped it with Sh101,455,818 agency notice in December 2012.
Passengers will no longer be able to book for Fly540 flights as The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has suspended low-cost carrier Fly540 from using its automated ticketing system claiming it breached its Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) rules
Subsequently, in 2020, a Nairobi court allowed KRA to recover Sh100M from Fly540.
This also represented accrued charges for air navigation services and regulatory fee.
It forced High Court Judge George Odunga to sanction the agency notices issued to four banks, directing them to remit the funds from the accounts of Fly540 aviation to KRA.
But it appears Fly540 is not new to controversies given constant dramas that have become synonymous with the airliner that was meant to cushion Kenyans braving hard economic times.
An observer noted that the troubled airliner should be a no-go zone if confessions by a section of clients in review are anything to go by.
Runway Incident
Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) has kicked off investigations into the Fly 540 aircraft which stalled on the runway for almost four hours.
Yesterday, February 24, an incident happened at about 5 pm when Fly540’s Dash 8 aircraft developed a nose wheel steering jam on entry into the runway at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport through one of the taxways.
According to KCAA Director General Gilbert Kibe, several attempts by a number of engineering teams from different airlines faced challenges to remove the aircraft taking into account the need to avoid a breakage of the nose wheel and it took four and half hours to remove it.
The incident caused 15 diversions to Mombasa, Kilimanjaro, Entebbe and Dar es Salaam while four flights failed to take off.
JKIA Runway has been closed since 5.20pm due to Fly540 Dash 8 Aircraft being disabled on the runway.
No landings and takeoffs. Incoming commercial flights diverted to Mombasa and Dar. KAA technicians are unable to clear the A/C off the runway. Long delays are expected in JKIA
The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an investigation on Mauritian-owned lender SBM Holdings over suspected fraudulent trade in treasury bonds.
The inquiry will spotlight irregular trade where multimillion-shilling bond transactions saw SBM Bank lose an undetermined amount of cash.
A treasury dealer and head of balance sheet management at SBM Bank, Mr Stephen Lagat, in August last year approved a transaction in which SBM Bank was duped into selling a bond at a price other than the prevailing market rate.
The effect of the malpractice, also referred to as “front-running”, is that it distorts the pricing of government securities and in effect the cost of domestic borrowing for Kenyan taxpayers.
“The Capital Markets Authority is seized of the matter and the investigation is underway,” the CMA told the Sunday Nation.
“Action may be taken and communication will be made,” said CMA.
The matter is likely to shed light on how the Treasury and taxpayers could be paying a hefty price for borrowing in a market fraught with irregular transactions involving dealers and stockbrokers.
Treasury bonds are the government’s most important avenue for bridging budget deficits by borrowing from the private sector.
By distorting the pricing of treasury bonds, dealers in effect inflate the national debt burden by exerting upward pressure on interest rates, which the Treasury pays on the issued bonds.
Some Treasury bond traders in commercial banks and brokers are believed to be skimming millions of shillings from off-the-market trading.
A crooked dealer or trader uses knowledge of customers’ orders to buy bonds from an investor who is selling at a lower price. The trader then sells the bonds to another person at a higher price and pockets the gain, often within a day.
SBM Bank four years ago bought Chase Bank, which collapsed on mismanagement and insider theft claims.
SBM Managing Director Moezz Mir did not respond to our queries on the matter.
It couldn’t immediately established how much money the bank lost or whether the bank has informed the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) of the ongoing investigations.
The investigation has created anxiety in the bonds markets, with traders keenly watching the regulator’s moves.
The government has set a net borrowing target of Sh616.80 billion from the domestic market in the current fiscal year and had borrowed Sh311.17 billion as of December 10.
Expenditure on servicing loans is pegged at Sh613.1 billion, out of which Sh262.1 billion will be principal repayments for domestic debt.
Treasury bonds can only be legally traded through the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), which means that commercial banks and other big holders of treasury bonds such as insurance companies, fund managers and state corporations cannot trade the bonds directly among themselves.
Investors who put money in long-term government bonds normally seek assurance that they can cash the securities with ease before making their investment decisions.
This is not the first time the Treasury bonds market is rocked by allegations of front running.
In 2019, a rogue treasury bonds trader who pocketed Sh104 million from irregular transactions was found guilty by CMA of engaging in market manipulation between 2016 and 2017.
A court in Pretoria, South Africa, has awarded a former Vodacom employee 5 per cent of revenues generated from returned calls prompted by the Please Call Me (PCM) since March 2001.
Nkosana Makate invented the service before he quit in 2004 and has been in court for nearly two decades claiming the telecommunication firm shortchanged him by offering R47 million (Sh354 million) for what the court found to be a brilliant invention.
The Gauteng High Court gave Vodacom’s CEO Shameel Joosub a month within which to recalculate what is owed to Makate, using the guidelines issued by the court, South Africa’s Pretoria News reported.
While Judge Wendy Hughes noted Vodacom was in a better position than the court to calculate the true worth of the invention, she issued guidelines based upon which Makate claim will be calculated.
Among guidelines given by the court include a requirement to compensate the inventor for the period between March 2001 and March 2021 as opposed to an initial proposal of only five years.
“The CEO was disingenuous to project that PCM, as a third party service provider, should only be allocated a duration of five years,” Pretoria News quoted the judge as having said in a publication on Thursday.
She dismissed Vadacom’s claim that the R47 million offer was generous and the defense that five years worth of compensation was adequate.
“The facts demonstrate otherwise. In my view, it is therefore projectable that PCM as a brilliant concept would have had the longevity which it has today. Thus, the eighteen years proposed by Makate (over which time Vodacom has benefitted from PCM) is reasonable and probable.”
The court also directed the telco to assume every returned call lasted two minutes while calculating the amount due.
The judge also ordered the firm to pay the inventor at least 27 per cent of PCMs sent as being revenue generated from return calls.
Makate had staked a claim of at least R10 billion (Sh75 billion).
Vodacom is the mother company of Safaricom that also uses the ‘Please Call Me’ feature.
