This archive report was first published on 18 June 2021.
On June 9, 2021, the Senate's Agriculture Committee directed the receiver manager, Ponangipalli Venkata Ramana Rao, to re-advertise the bid to salvage Mumias Sugar Company within 14 days.
However, activist Okiya Omtatah has moved to court seeking to temporarily suspend this directive, alleging that Rao engaged in a secretive bidding process and invited eight investors, including Catalysis Group of Russia and Devki Group of Kenya, without proper planning or transparency.
Omtatah claims that none of the invited bidders had the capacity to revive the company, and that Rao's actions may be aimed at disposing of the company to his cronies for a song.
The activist also alleges that Rao has mismanaged the ethanol operations, shut them down in March 2021, and failed to plant sugarcane on 307 hectares of the Nucleus Estate, resulting in huge losses for the company.
Omtatah further claims that Rao has neglected many assets of Mumias Sugar Company, including the Nucleus Estate and machinery, posing a danger to the public and resulting in huge losses due to the deterioration of the assets.
