BY NT CORRESPONDENT.
Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) Chief Executive Officer Lerionka Ole Tiampati, Company Secretary John Omanga and four directors of Kiru Tea Factory have been fined Sh400,000 each for contempt of court.
They have a seven-day ultimatum to settle the fine and in default serve a seven-month jail term. The fate of the six officials hangs in the balance because anyone who is convicted and jailed beyond six months cannot hold public office.
Appellate Judges William Ouko, Fatuma Sichale and John Otieno-Odek decried wanton rivalry for leadership of the 8,000-member factory in Murang’a County and said there were legal mechanisms for removal of directors instead of resorting to uncivilized behavior.
The three-member bench said obedience of court orders was the cornerstone of the administration of justice and punishment was meant to maintain the dignity of courts. Senior Counsel Paul Muite, assisted by lawyer Kithinji Marete, for the tea factory, had demanded six-month jail-terms for each of the officials.
The Appellate Judges rejected a plea by lawyers Waweru Gatonye, Benson Milimo and James Ochieng Oduol to suspend the proceedings for 21 days to enable them challenge the conviction of the six officials before the Supreme Court. The urgent application was placed before Chief Justice David Maraga for directions.
Last week, the aggrieved officials suffered a technical blow whjen the court rejected their application seeking to nullify the February 22 decision that found them guilty of willful disobedience of court orders stopping them from interfering with the leadership and management of the tea factory.
The six officials had flouted sanctions imposed on December 6 and 21, 2017 against KTDA Holdings and KTDA Management Services from conducting any meetings or causing the nomination of directors of the factory pending an appeal challenging the alleged ouster of its Chairman Chege Kirundi and Company Secretary Bernard Kiragu. Those on the firing line were Tiampati, Omanga, Stephen Githiga, Easton Gakungu, Peter Kinyua and Francis Macharia.
In the protracted case, Kirundi and his allies, who are facing rebellion from the Githiga group, had secured an injunction stopping interference with the giant factory’s leadership. Kirundi and co-directors Kiragu, John Ngari (Vice-Chairman) and Christopher Mwangi (Auditor) have accused their rivals of trying to paralyse operations of the firm at the behest of powerful individuals who are seeking control of the tea industry in the region.
The Appellate bench had observed that KTDA-HC and KTDA-MS appeared intent on Omanga’s nomination to replace Kiragu and the rivalry between the warring parties was likely to cause considerable harm to the farming community. Omanga was reportedly removed from the Kiru board on September 11, 2017 and replaced by Kiragu.
