- A group led by the chairman of Kiru Tea Factory in Muranga, Geoffrey Kirundi Chege is demanding an emergency Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be convened at the KTDA headquarters by the Company Secretary Mathew Odero. They intend to table a detailed Memorandum demanding the ouster of Muthaura and Ruguttu. The group wants Mr Muthaura and the KTDA Group Finance and Strategic Director Simeon Kipngetich Ruguttu sacked for allegedly having presided over operations which saw the Kiru Tea factory lose more than Ksh. 100 million through fraudulent claims and more than Ksh. 220 million in alleged fraudulent loan scams
By The Weekly Vision
A vicious boardroom war has erupted at the multi-billion shillings Kenya Tea Development Authority (KTDA) targeting the company’s Chief Executive Wilson Muthaura and the Croup’s Chief Finance and Strategies Simenon Ruguttu for removal. Sources at KTDA have told The Weekly Vision that the architect of the move is a group led by the director at Kenya Tea Development Holdings (KTHDL a subsidiary of KTDA and Chairman of Kiru Tea Factory in Muranga, Geoffrey Kirundi Chege.
The group is demanding an emergency Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be convened at the KTDA headquarters by the Company Secretary Mathew Odero. They intend to table a detailed Memorandum demanding the ouster of Muthaura and Ruguttu. The group wants Mr Muthaura and the KTDA Group Finance and Strategic Director Simeon Kipngetich Ruguttu sacked for allegedly having presided over operations which saw the Kiru Tea factory lose more than Ksh. 100 million through fraudulent claims and more than Ksh. 220 million in alleged fraudulent loan scams.
They claim Mr Muthaura and Ruguttu through seconded proxies are holding the Kiru Tea factory in a deadly financial mismanagement and outright cash looting that has caused it serious cash flow problems. Part of the demand notice for the board meeting reads: “The Agenda of the Board meeting will be to invoke and apply Article 118 of the Articles of Association of KTDHL and all other necessary authorities, if necessary, in relation to Wilson Muthaura the Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Simeon Kipngetich Ruguttu.”
It goes on: “AND REVOKE those individual appointments in terms of the power of the Board and bestowed on the board by the Companies Act, section 140 – 150 rules made thereunder, Directors Code of Conduct and Ethics and Board charter as a director AND establish a succession plan.”
The Kiru Board of Directors and top managers have vowed to table a memorandum in support of the Requisition and the Agenda before the KTDA Board on the date. In their 16 page Memorandum, they detail how they invoked Article 107 of the Articles of Association of KTDHL and directed, MATTHEW OUMA ODERO, the Board Company Secretary to summon and convene KTDA Board Meeting with Agenda for the Board to invoke and apply Article 118 of the Articles of Association of KTDHL and REMOVE WILSON MUTHAURA from its KTDH Board.
The memorandum continues to document: “The Human Resource role placed him at the Centre of Human Resource Policy Application to all staff and those staff and those seconded employees by Kenya Tea Development Management Services Limited (KTDAMS) to Kiru Tea Factory Limited (KTFC) before and after his appointment. “
They claim that Muthaura’s link to the KTFC factory was through various unit managers and Regional Managers who received instructions from him and those below him accountable to him in his Department and from three below him who reported to him directly and indirectly as the Group Chief Executive Officer at the apex of the tea factories companies managed by KTDHL through its assignee before and after.
That after his appointment he conducted himself in violation of the Articles of Association, the constitution and against the KTDHL charter and violation of the Companies Act.
Therefore, KTFC in its claim holds Muthaura liable for the poor human resources mismanagement and application imposed on him in the company and caused him to remain as an impostor on the company despite the illegality of oppressive, unfair and prejudicial administration practices and processes. He allowed him to be the unfair, prejudicial and poor evaluation of staff. Some KTFC staff were terminated without good cause to punish them unfairly causing the company to incur losses.
They go on to document that after he became Group Chief Executive Officer, he not only negotiated payment of the two contemnors over Kshs. 100,000,000 in settlement of their dues but he wilfully negotiated and paid them and others without withholding the dues to cover KTFC claims despite his full knowledge that KTFC had lodged claims against KTDHL.
They should have jointly and severally been surcharged for the loss KTFC had suffered to protect KTDHL which disclosed conspiracy against KTFC’s claims him being part of the cognate to pay just claims. He presided over processing and payment to the two individuals knowing very well that they were guilty but continued to cover them.
It documents that there is also the critical question on matters that relate to O.B No. 4 of November 2017 reported at Nairobi Central Police Station by the chairman of KTFC on forgeries of his signatures and that of the vice-chairman of KTFC Board and uttering false financial statements for the year ending 30th June 2017.
That no one has been disciplined for having uttered and forged the chairman’s signature and that of the vice chairman and for expenditure in printing Annual Financial Booklets without a Board mandate. Not only because as an accomplice in the criminal offences committed but Muthaura played a key role to cover and frustrate the justice process.
“Despite full knowledge that Dr. John Kennedy Omanga had uttered false documents and caused members of staff of his Department to sign documents without Board mandate and had misused company’s funds which was unauthorized Muthaura has not and had not seen it fit to apply Human Resources Policy to punish the culprits and to follow the staff who committed offence of destroying evidence of over 8,000 copies that had been uttered and forged with intention to defeat justice,” the document reads in part.
