Mastermind T*****o Chairman Wilfred Murungi is d**d, the company has announced.
In a memo to Mastermind T*****o Company (MTK) staff confirmed the demise of the tycoon, but no information was given to reveal the cause of his sudden d***h.
His d***h comes after years a legal tussle pitting the Mastermind T*****o company and the Kenya Revenue Authority on Sh1.99 billion tax dispute.
However, on November 20, Mr Murungi negotiated an out-of-court settlement of tax dispute that was successful.
The c*******e maker was challenging a move by the taxman in which auctioneers were sent to seize its assets for defaulting on remittances.
On May 12, 2019, local media reported that workers at the Mastermind T*****o company were on a go-slow over delayed salaries. That only junior staff members were paid in February and managers had three months salaries unpaid.
Even though the company remained tight-lipped over the issue, reports indicated that over 1,000 workers were affected by the cash crunch in the company that threatened to bring the manufacturer to its knees.
Mastermind is the second largest T*****o Company in Kenya after British America T*****o (BAT).
MTK entered the market as a local company in the late 1980’s with its impact growing steadily.
By 2002, the local company held 22 percent of the c*******e market share in the country. All its products are produced within Kenya and the t*****o and leaf is purchased directly from contracted farmers.
In June 2014, MTK was not allowed to purchase t*****o from Migori County after farmers complained about the low purchase price MTK was offering them. Two months later it was reported that hundreds of MTK’s contracted farmers in Migori protested, claiming that the company had reportedly failed to pay fees accrued over eight months that amounted to over Ksh 100 million.
MTK is known for producing affordable cigarettes to Kenyans with its popular brands being Supermatch and Rocket.
