Sentencing in Mumias case postponed
Former Mumias Sugar Company employees during a demonstration on May 10, 2023. They wanted Sarrai Group to halt operations at the firm as ordered by a court.
The High Court yesterday postponed the sentencing of three officials of Sarrai Group Ltd, including the owner Sarbjit Singh Rai, to next month, amid pleas to the court to withhold the decision for at least 90 days.
High Court judge Alfred Mabeya pushed the sentencing of Mr Rai, Mr Rakesh Kumar and Mr Stephen Kihumba to June 15 before Justice Josephine Mongare, after indicating that he recused himself from the matter last year.
The three officials were directed to appear before Justice Mabeya — the presiding judge of the Commercial division — and show cause why they should not be jailed for contempt for continued operations at Mumias Sugar Company (MSC) despite being ordered to stop.
Justice Dorah Chepkwony found them guilty of contempt of court last month and fined them Sh100,000 before directing them to appear before Justice Mabeya for sentencing because she was on transfer.
“Having recused myself from the matter, I cannot purport to make any judicial pronouncements on the same,” the judge said.
The trio, through senior counsel Prof Githu Muigai, had pleaded with the court to defer the sentencing for at least 90 days to enable them to pursue an appeal at the Court of Appeal and also seek a review of the decision.
Prof Muigai told the court that they had filed an application before the appellate court and they will present themselves to the High Court for sentencing in case they lose the appeal.
The application was opposed by creditors, including lawyers Jackline Kimeto and Dr John Khaminwa, saying the appellate court declined to suspend the sentencing.
They further said Mr Rai and other officials should first purge the contempt before addressing the court on any other matters.
Justice Chepkwony ruled last month that Sarrai Group had proceeded with the operations at the miller despite being ordered to cease operations on July 28, last year.
The Uganda-based company had been awarded a 20-year lease to operate the troubled miller but it was later cancelled.
KCB Group, which had placed the miller under administration, had challenged the decision and was granted temporary orders in September last year for them to continue operating, a stand supported by Sarrai Group.
MSC can process 8,000 tonnes of sugar cane a day and has a cane-growing nucleus of 4,000 hectares, the largest in the country. The company’s sugar brand hit the market shelves last December after nearly a decade of absence after the miller stopped processing,
Ms Kimeto filed a contempt of court proceedings against the company’s senior officials, arguing that the operations of the miller were still going on even after being served with the court order.
“In the instant case, if the contemnors and their counsel felt that the order of 28th July 2022 was vague and unenforceable, they ought to have taken the liberty as provided in law to seek a remedy in having the same interpreted by the court to ensure compliance or enforceability,” the judge said.
Justice Chepkwony ruled that Sarrai Group and its directors willfully disregarded the court directive.
