The miller wants the High Court to dismiss a suit the activist filed in April, seeking to stop the government from using public funds to save it from folding up.
Mumias holds that Mr Omtatah has not proven how the bailout will violate his constitutional rights and only wants to stop its resuscitation.
Mr Omtatah has in his petition held that audit reports by KPMG and the Departmental Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Co-operatives revealed corruption and abuse of office by the miller’s managers and directors.
Struggling sugar miller Mumias has accused activist Okiya Omtatah of trying to bring it down by fighting the government’s planned bailout.
The miller wants the High Court to dismiss a suit the activist filed in April, seeking to stop the government from using public funds to save it from folding up.
Mumias holds that Mr Omtatah has not proven how the bailout will violate his constitutional rights and only wants to stop its resuscitation.
Mr Omtatah filed the suit in April opposing President Uhuru Kenyatta’s plan to release Sh1 billion to Mumias to help it get back on its feet. The activist holds that action must be taken against former managers suspected to have swindled it of billions of shillings.
“I verily believe that Mr Omtatah seeks to curtail the operations of Mumias by seeking to prohibit the government from participating in its management and operation. The government being a shareholder of Mumias owes a duty to act in a manner that is beneficial to both itself and Mumias,” the miller says.
The activist has sued the Attorney- General, Director of Public Prosecutions, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, Capital Markets Authority (CMA), KPMG and eight former managers, including Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero.
Mr Omtatah has in his petition held that audit reports by KPMG and the Departmental Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Co-operatives revealed corruption and abuse of office by the miller’s managers and directors.
But the miller now says the activist has based his case on the KPMG draft report, which is incomplete. The miller also wants Mr Omtatah’s request to have the final report produced in court dismissed, arguing that it is a private document.
The CMA has also thrown its weight behind the miller. The regulator says stopping the government from willingly investing the Sh1 billion in the miller would violate the state’s right as a shareholder in the firm. It adds that stopping the government from investing in Mumias could also scare away potential investors that could save the firm from total collapse.
Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko has asked the court to strike him off the suit, arguing that investigations into the miller’s predicament are still ongoing but no hard evidence has been brought up against anyone yet.
“The claims as contained in the application are premature and do not disclose any constitutional issue against the DPP. The office of the DPP does not act arbitrarily on mere allegations without substantive evidence,” says Mr Tobiko.
