Chemelil Sugar Company has appointed an acting chief executive officer (CEO) following the dismissal of Gabriel Nyangweso, who was appointed in 2017.
The miller’s Quality Assurance Manager, Jacqueline Kotonya, will be in charge for the next one month as the Ministry of Agriculture sources for a substantive office holder.
Mr Nyangweso’s promotion and the retirement Head of Finance, Mr Emmanuel Ngala, were quashed following a petition filed by Caleb Gichana.
Mr Gichanga challenged the legality of their stay in office on the grounds that they had not been recruited under a competitive process.
According to the petitioner, the duo’s stay in office was unlawful, unconstitutional and was done without proper gazette notices - a violation of Articles 10 and 232 of the Constitution.
“Mr Nyangweso was incompetent and had run down the company through malpractices and irregularities, including nepotism,” he claimed.
Justice Stephen Radido of the Employment and Labour Relations Court, while delivering the ruling, said the Ministry of Agriculture was guilty of negligence of duty and failing to constitute a board for Chemelil Suga.
Justice Radido therefore ordered the ministry to appoint or advertise for the recruitment of the board of directors and ensure the advertisement of the recruitment of a CEO.
In accordance with the law, the board will then embark on the recruitment of the next CEO of the cash-strapped sugar miller.
The court decision comes a year after the Kenya Union of Sugarcane Plantation and Allied Workers (Kuspaw) accused the two of engaging in financial impropriety and failing to remit statutory deductions, among others.
In addition, sugarcane farmers have raised concerns that the lack of substantive boards has threatened the operations of Sony, Chemelil and Nzoia sugar companies.
Former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya, while dissolving the boards of the three firms on July 16, 2020, said the aim was to give room for the leasing process and handing over of the management to private entities.
Mr Atyang’ Atiang’, chair of the Kenya Association of Sugarcane and Allied Products (Kasap), said the absence of the boards has complicated the operations of the firms as CEOs have no one to account to.
“The move has led to the management of the three sugar factories resorting to making unilateral decisions, which could be detrimental to the companies,” he said.
To protect public assets against misuse and pilferage, Mr Atiang’ called on the government to conduct an audit of the public mills.
Mr Nyangweso has defended his reign at Chemelil, saying the company has managed to update the remittance of statutory deductions.
“Further, in respect to National Social Security Fund (NSSF) contributions, where there had been arrears of prior years, we have an agreement with them on settlement and we have not defaulted in our obligations,” he said.
He also noted that the management has been honouring an agreement that requires them to pay farmers for cane delivered within 10 days.
