Mastermind tycoon in High Court to block arrest order

Mastermind Tobacco owner Wilfred Murungi and his children have moved to the High Court to fight an arrest warrant issued against them allegedly for breach of environmental laws.

Mr Murungi wants the High Court to quash the warrant of arrest issued by a Kibera magistrate court and the criminal case triggered by a complaint from the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).

The agency says that the businessman and his five children built a boundary wall in Makadara, Nairobi, without seeking its approval.

“The first respondent (Nema) intends…to arrest the petitioners so as to answer charges in the second respondent’s (Kibera magistrate court) court which are based on a contrived and non-existent offence,” said Mr Murungi in court documents.

“The warrants of arrest issued in Kibera magistrate court criminal case no 3226/13 on September 20, 2013 and extended thereafter be lifted.”

Mr Murungi, 69, is set to be charged along with his children Eric, Angela, Audrey and Allan, who is the founder and managing director of Ozzbeco — a boutique brewery that manufacturers the high-end Sierra beer.

The tycoon worked as top executive at British American Tobacco (BAT) before he quit in 1985 to take on his employer with Mastermind Tobacco, which makes the Supermatch brand of cigarettes.

BAT and Mastermind are locked in a vicious fight for control of raw materials, especially tobacco and the market, which has seen the local firm grab market share from the British multinational, with pricing being its key market driver.

The business has made Mr Murungi one of wealthiest Kenyans and he reckons in court papers that his firms employ about 1,000 workers and pays an average of Sh2 billion in taxes annually.

He is also a director and second-largest individual shareholder in ARM Cement with a stake currently worth Sh548 million. 

His arrest warrant comes in a period when a number of corporate chiefs including group managing director of East Africa Breweries Limited Charles Ireland, and National Bank boss Munir Ahmed faced arrest warrant for allegedly disobeying court orders.

The Murungis claim they acquired a Nema approval in July to drill borehole at the Makadara plot.

They want the High Court to declare that Environmental Impact Assessment reports are not a requirement when building a boundary wall, arguing that Nema Act does provide for it.

“The most distressing aspect of the charge sheet and proceeding of the day was, however, that the fact that 1st respondent (Nema) had charged my late mother with the aforesaid charge even though she passed away in February 2012,” says the businessman’s son Eric in court documents.

He claimed that they learnt of the charges when a Nema official and police officers seconded to the agency arrived at Mastermind Tobacco offices on December 17 armed with arrest warrant.

The Nema officials are said to have held a meeting with the tobacco firm’s security managers and demanded Sh500,000 to drop the charges, the Murungis say in court documents.

Thursday, High Court judge Mumbi Ngugi directed the Nema’s head of legal services to appear in court on February 3 to shed light on the allegations before a ruling is made.

Mastermind started building the boundary wall on one of its land in Makadara in June to keep trespassers away and curb encroachment by squatters.

The tobacco firm did not mention the location of the Makadara land that had been invaded by squatters.

But there is 3.5 hectares of land in Makadara where a boundary wall was built in June following a dispute with 35,000 artisans who laid ownership.

The National Church Council of Kenya owned the land, which is adjacent to Buruburu Estate along Jogoo Road, before transferring it to undisclosed private investors.

[email protected]