Lawyers demand copy of Mumias Sugar Company lease agreement

Wekesa and Simiyu Advocates has written to Mr. Ponangipalli Venkata Ramana Rao requesting for details on the time frame in months and years that the highly-contested lease will take to revive the miller, his appointing authority as a Receiver and when the first payment was made pursuant the said lease.

“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,” reads the letter also copied to among others, High Court Deputy Registrar, Commercial and Tax Division.

The law firm also wants copies of the evaluation criteria prepared at the time of making the invitations for bid, the inventory of the company’s assets that were not handed over to Sarrai Group, and part of the assets that were not subject of his evaluation of the tenders submitted.

Wekesa and Simiyu Advocates is also demanding that Mr. Rao confirms the number of bank accounts and balances he found in existence in the name of the company when he was appointed as receiver.

In addition to that, the company wants a detailed statement of account of all payments and receipts arising from the receivership of the company from the date of appointment to date in addition to an inventory of the intellectual property owned by the company to copyright, trademarks, patents and industrial design, among others.

The legal battle revolving around the Mumias Sugar Company lease award to Sarrai Group has been challenged by various parties.

On one hand, five farmers; Lambert Lwanga Ogochi, Augustino Ochacha Saba, Prisca Okwanko Ochacha, Robert Mudinyu Magero and Wycliffe Barasa Ng’onga alongside West Kenya Sugar Company and Mumias Outgrowers (1998) Limited want the court to nullify the lease award.

They argue that the leasing was opaque and did not follow regulatory approvals.

In its defence, Sarrai Group says the lease it secured for operating and taking over assets of Mumias Sugar Company was not marred with improprieties, fraud and apparent corruption as argued by the petitioners.

The County Government of Kakamega has also raised a preliminary objection to the suit saying it is misconceived, incompetent and does not show reasonable cause of action against the county.