Nzoia Sugar Company MD Michael Wanjala suspended
Suspended Nzoia Sugar Company managing director Michael Wanjala Makokha.
The Nzoia Sugar Company Managing Director Michael Wanjala Makokha has been suspended for three months and replaced by Dr Chrispine Ogutu Omondi in an acting capacity.
While unveiling the new MD on Thursday, Agriculture Chief Administrative Secretary Lawrence Omukhaka said Mr Makokha had been suspended following complaints from farmers, local leaders, employees and investors.
He said the former MD had been accused of failing to pay farmers their arrears amounting to Sh700 million.
“Despite the factory crushing daily, the MD had failed to pay farmers for the last nine months'' said Mr Omukhaka.
The Nzoia Sugar Company MD has also been accused of selling the company's cane to Butali Sugar Company without the board’s approval. He claimed that the company's nucleus cane worth 700 tonnes was sold to Butali Sugar Company but the money could not be accounted for.
Mr Wanjala has also been accused of failing to pay workers’ salaries amounting to Sh2 billion.
The CAS said Mr Wanjala awarded a tender for bio-metric machine worth Sh200 million without following proper procedures besides failure to service the factory machines for the last six years.
He said the Ministry of Agriculture had formed a committee to investigate the allegations against Mr Makokha.
“We have set up a team which will investigate him and if he is found to have committed such mistakes, we shall start the process of looking for a new managing director'' he said.
The Bungoma-based sugar firm, which is a key pillar of the county’s economy, almost collapsed due to mismanagement.
In 2019, Mr Wanjala was appointed by then Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri to head the factory after the death of Michael Kulundu.
During Mr Wanjala’s tenure, the company’s debt ceiling has been rising to billions of shillings even after the government wrote off some debts.
In 2019, Agriculture CS Peter Munya and his Devolution counterpart Eugene Wamalwa led a team from the National Government, western Kenya governors and leaders for a consultative meeting. During the meeting, CS Munya said that despite writing off debts, the company had accrued over Sh1 billion in debts.
