This archive report was first published on 7 July 2019.
Ownership Dispute Rocks Savannah Cement ¶
Published on July 7, 2019
A Sh10 billion cement manufacturing company, Savannah Cement Ltd, has been at the center of a vicious legal battle over its ownership for the past three years.
The company, based in Athi River, Machakos County, was formed in 2010 by a group of Kenyan and Chinese investors who aimed to fill a void in the lucrative cement market.
However, the partnership turned sour in 2014 when one of the Kenyan directors, Benson Ndeta, bought off the Chinese investors in unclear circumstances, leading to a series of legal battles.
The Kenyan shareholders, who held 40% of the company, claimed that the sale of the Chinese-owned shares to Seruji Limited was illegal and null and void.
They argued that the sale was not approved by the board of directors and that the company secretary, Stephen Mwaniki Njagi, had not attended the meeting where the sale was allegedly approved.
However, Ndeta denied the allegations, stating that the sale was covered by the shareholders' agreement and not the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that governed the partnership.
The dispute has been ongoing since 2016, with the two parties filing separate cases in court. The High Court has since appointed a new board of directors, including those from Seruji Limited, and barred the Kenyan shareholders from interfering with the running of the company.
