On a day when the new KTDA board took over, fired the CEO Lerionka Tiampati and five senior executives, ousted chairman Peter Kanyago fought back dismissing the new board as illegal.
The Kanyago group say all the changes being done at KTDA right from the elections of directors at the tea factory company level and at the board are in contravention of court orders, and are therefore illegal and of no consequence.
In the latest twist in the struggle to reform the tea industry, the Kanyago board that was ousted last Friday, dug in for more fights saying insisting it was still in office intact and that the law was on their side.
The stiff resistance being mounted by the Kanyago group creates more confusion and tension in the industry that the government has been keep to reform following years of complaints by farmers and other stakeholders.
In a press statement issued by the Company Secretary John Omanga (who has also been kicked out), the Kanyago team said the KTDA board had not been reconstituted and remains in office intact.
The statement said their attention had been drawn to reports of a meeting by a group of 12 people individuals allegedly calling themselves directors of KTDA Holdings PLC held on the 21st June, 2021.
It went further to say that the said group purported to distribute amongst themselves positions at the KTDA.
“We wish to notify KTDA Holdings shareholders and the general public that the meeting was not convened by KTDA. The general public are advised to ignore any pronouncements and declarations by this group of people,’’ said.
The statement further said that, the Constitutional Court of the High Court of Kenya in Mombasa and Nairobi through conservatory orders, restrained elections of Tea Factory Companies. These orders remain in place and therefore all purported directors’ elections in the tea factory companies held between the months of March and May 2021 are in violation of Court Orders and are valid.
Further the statement said that the combined court matters filed by various parties within the tea value chain, come up for directions on 30th June, 2021 before the Constitutional Court.
It went on to say that in March 2021 the Constitutional Court issued restraining orders in relation to KTDA Holdings PLC and its subsidiary companies and that the orders are in force and therefore any purported change is against the orders and of no consequence.
However, observers notes that the Kanyago group fighting chances diminished further when the Registrar of Companies issued a new CR12 certificate where the new board are the registered directors of KTDA.
