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 bids 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.
According to Omtatah, Rao's actions have led to fears that the company may be disposed of to his cronies for a song, and that the receiver manager is conflicted due to his previous dealings with Devki Steel Millers Ltd.
Omtatah also claims that Rao has mismanaged the company's ethanol operations, shut them down in March 2021, and failed to plant sugarcane on 307 hectares of the Nucleus Estate, resulting in huge losses and a danger to the public.
The activist argues that the receiver manager has neglected many assets of Mumias Sugar Company, including the Nucleus Estate and machinery, and that the company's shutdown poses a threat to the public and the economy of western Kenya.
