This archive report was first published on 20 June 2021.
On June 9, 2021, the Senate's Agriculture Committee directed the Receiver Manager to re-advertise the bid to salvage Mumias Sugar Company within 14 days.
However, it has emerged that the Receiver Manager, Ponangipalli Venkata Ramana Rao, had secretly invited eight companies to bid, including Catalysis Group Russia, Sarrai Group Uganda, and Devki Group, without proper advertisement.
Activist Okiya Omtata has filed a petition seeking to temporarily suspend Rao as the Receiver Manager, citing concerns over his handling of the company's affairs.
According to Omtata, Rao's secretive bidding process and failure to revive the company have led to fears that he is conflicted and may be disposing of the company to his cronies.
Rao has been accused of mismanaging the ethanol operations and shutting them down in March 2021, halting all manufacturing operations at the company.
He has also been accused of failing to publish periodic reports on his efforts to reduce the KCB Group debt and a general statement of affairs on the current state of the company's assets and liabilities.
‘It is clear that the receiver manager has failed in his mission to protect the Company’s assets and to the best extent maintain its operations. Instead, he has completely shut down the company and is en route to nailing the last nail in the coffin of Mumias Sugar Scheme,’ states Omtata.
