Companies

Uchumi forcibly evicted from premises amid rent dispute

uchumi

Members of the public watch as goods from Uchumi's Karatina branch are strewn on the street on December 15, 2017. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NMG

Scores of youths hired by an auctioneer on Friday raided Uchumi's #ticker:UCHM Karatina branch and forcibly evicted workers from the premises over rent arrears amounting to millions of shillings.

There was drama when the youths, accompanied by police officers, stormed in at around 3.30 p.m. and began throwing goods out of the building.

They demolished the shelves that were later seen strewn outside in the street along the main Karatina-Nairobi highway as members of the public watched in surprise.

Mathira East OCPD Mathews Gwiyo led a contingent of police at the exercise to prevent possible looting from hundreds of residents who milled around to witness the eviction.

The Uchumi branch manager, Mr Patrick Mburu, could be seen pacing up and down making calls but declined to speak to reporters at the scene.

uchumi2

The eviction exercise at Uchumi's Karatina branch on December 15, 2017. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NMG

A senior employee who refused to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media claimed that the retailer had not been issued with an eviction notice.

However, a copy of an ex-parte eviction order signed and issued on December 14 by Karatina principal magistrate Elvis Michieka indicates that the tenant was illegally occupying the premises.

It further indicated that the landlady, a Ms Lucy Weru, had moved to court on December 1 seeking to evict the retail chain partly owned by government from her premises.

Ms Weru could not be reached for comment but sources say the struggling NSE-listed supermarket owed more than Sh2 million in rent.

An employee of the auction firm who asked not to be named disclosed that apart from rent arrears, the supermarket’s lease had also expired last month.

Setback

The latest development will be a setback for Uchumi, coming just a day after the firm moved to restock outlets countrywide in a bid to cash in on the festive season.

Acting chief executive Mohamed Mohamed on Thursday said the firm was close to inking a deal with a foreign investor as part of the chain's recovery plan.

Some employees who spoke to the media said the branch had just received new stock from headquarters on Friday in readiness for Christmas shopping before the the eviction.

News of the restocking exercise kicked off a share price rally at the bourse yesterday, hitting Sh4.10 on Thursday from Sh3.50 on Wednesday.

Update: Uchumi Supermarkets has notified its customers that the Karatina branch will no longer be in operation due to "an unexpected non-renewal of the lease from the landlord".

"As we seek an alternative solution, we apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused. We enjoyed many years in Karatina and appreciate the customers’ loyalty and support," the retailer said in a statement Friday.

Despite the eviction, the firm says it is optimistic as it is at the start of an exciting turnaround strategy.

READ: Uchumi targets Sh3bn land sale to boost comeback