Ex-Keroche MD files insolvency petition over Ksh.45M unpaid dismissal award

Former Keroche Breweries Managing Director Sam Krus Shollei has filed an insolvency petition against the embattled company, seeking recovery of over Ksh.45 million awarded to him in a 2022 judgment for wrongful and unfair dismissal.

The petitioner, who served as Managing Director of the Naivasha-based brewery, moved to the High Court on May 23 this year under the Insolvency Act, claiming that the company has failed or neglected to satisfy the judgment debt, despite repeated demands and the passage of nearly three years since the award was made by the Employment and Labour Relations Court.

In the court documents, the former executive outlines a turbulent history with the company.

He claims that he was appointed as Managing Director through a contract dated July 2017, which took effect on 1st October 2017.

His tenure was initially delayed until January 2018 due to political instability following the general elections, during which he agreed to draw only half his salary.

However, he argues that despite dedicating himself to the role—including acting as de facto CEO during the extended medical absence of the company’s top leadership—the relationship soured in October 2018 after he raised internal governance and policy concerns with the Chief Executive Officer.

According to him, he was subsequently locked out of his office while on leave and later learned that his dismissal had been announced to staff without any formal engagement or hearing.

The abrupt termination prompted him to file Nakuru ELRC Case No. 35 of 2019, citing breach of contract, unfair termination, and constructive dismissal.

In a landmark judgment delivered by Lady Justice Hellen Wasilwa on September 27, 2022, the court found in his favour and awarded him Ksh.52.5 million in damages, gratuity, unpaid salary, and other contractual entitlements.

After deducting a partial payment of Ksh.7 million, the company was ordered to pay a remaining balance of Ksh.45,550,051, along with costs and interest.

However, the Petitioner now claims that Keroche Breweries has failed to honour the judgment debt, raising serious doubts about its ability to meet financial obligations.

He contends that the company is insolvent and seeks the court's intervention to commence liquidation proceedings unless the outstanding amount is settled in full.