This archive report was first published on 30 July 2019.
On July 30, 2019, the High Court of Kenya ruled in favor of Maxam Ltd, the local distributor of Heineken beer in Kenya, awarding the company Sh1.7 billion in compensation for loss of business.
The court reinstated the distribution agreement that Heineken East Africa Import Company Ltd and Heineken International B.V. had cancelled.
According to the court, Maxam had been distributing Heineken beer in Kenya since 2007, long before a formal distribution agreement was signed on May 21, 2013.
Justice James Aaron Makau found that the formal deal required Maxam to invest in infrastructure, which the company did, and that the firms had illegally and unfairly terminated the agreement.
“I find and hold the valuation of the lost business in the sum of Sh1,799,978,868 remains uncontroverted by the defendants and as such, an admission on their part,” said Justice Makau.
