Mumias Sugar Employees Take Their Woes To State House

Former employees of Mumias Sugar Company have escalated the quest to revive the troubled miller to State House. In a letter to President William Ruto, the former workers are pushing for the revocation of the 20-year lease awarded to Uganda-based Sarrai Group, accusing its management of running down the company instead of reviving it.

“Revoke the lease awarded to Sarrai Group and order the preservation of all MSC assets pending the outcome of the findings of a commission of inquiry established to chart the best way to revive the company,” they said in the letter, signed by their officials led by Vitalis Makokha, Patrick Mutimba, Anne Wekhornba and Johnson Shiundu.

The workers revealed that by the time they were pushed out, they had not been paid for 30 months. They are now calling on President Ruto, through the National Treasury, to clear the salary areas and expedite the miller’s revival process.

They asked Ruto to form a commission of inquiry to investigate circumstances that led to the collapse of MSC and give recommendations on best way to revive the company. At the same time, the former workers called on the President to ensure the executive orders he issued last December during his visit to Kakamega County are executed.

Among others, President Ruto promised to get new investor to revive the sugar miller. “The government will clear all outstanding debts of the miller and bring in a new investor under an agreement that he will be remitting Ksh100 million monthly to the County Government of Kakamega to improve on standards of education, health and improve the road network,” he said.

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Sarrai controversially won 20-year lease tender in December 2021 following a bidding process that saw higher bidders locked out of the venture. However, in April 2022, High Court judge Justice Alfred Mabeya ordered Sarrai to leave the premises and removed Ponangipali Venkata Ramana Rao as the Administrator of the company.

Mabeya further appointed Kereto Marima as the new administrator of Mumias Sugar Company and ordered Rao to hand over the company to Marima. “This court has considered the allegations made against the leasing process. Rao awarded the lease to the lowest bidder while there were higher bidders, without giving any justifiable explanation,” the judge ruled.

Justice Mabeya said public interest demands that receivership that has yielded zero results paves way for a professional administration of Mumias is given a chance.

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