Judge orders Portland reopened

A judge on Thursday ordered the immediate reopening of a cement company that has remained closed for a week.

Mr Justice Mohammed Warsame directed Industrialisation permanent secretary Karanja Kibicho to talk to East Africa Portland Cement Company directors before proceeding to the factory to reopen it.

“The company is being run down and the court will not allow that to continue. When employees demand their wages at the end of the month, the managing directors and the board will not lose anything, but the shareholders and the public,” said Justice Warsame.

He directed the Police Commissioner and Rift Valley and Eastern provincial commissioners to provide security to the directors when they reopen the company to avert a situation like last week’s when employees refused to allow suspended managing director Kephar Tande into the premises.

The judge warned politicians who have been inciting their communities to frustrate the firm’s operations that they would face the full force of the law. (READ: More woes for cement maker as workers stage protest)

Justice Warsame said that if the suspended MD was an impediment to the smooth running of the company, someone else should be appointed to oversee operations.

“The problem in this country is that nobody wants to resign yet what ought to be protected are the public and investors’ interests. We should not look at individuals or tribal angles but the greater interest of the company,” he said.

The judge agreed with acting Industrialisation minister Amason Kingi’s decision to dissolve the board of directors.

He said that if the minister took the action to protect the interests of the public, then he was justified.

He also agreed with the minister’s lawyer, Mr Fred Ngatia, who had suggested that a meeting of the shareholders would be the best way to resolve the dispute.

“What is needed to resolve the matter is very simple. We don’t need so many affidavits and legal authorities or the orders being sought in the applications,” said Justice Warsame.

Chaos erupted at the company last week following a court order that reinstated the MD and the suspended board of directors, with the workers vowing never to allow them into the company premises.

Political and ethnic clashes then erupted, with members of the Maasai community stopping the mining of raw material from their regions until Mr Tande resumed office.

Justice Warsame took over the matter following a ruling by Lady Justice Cecilia Githua on Tuesday that two cases filed by the suspended directors seeking similar orders could not run concurrently in the same court.

The first application was filed by Mr Tande, Mr Mark ole Karbolo, Mr Titus Naikuni and Mr Hamish Keith seeking a declaration that the minister and the permanent secretary had no power to suspend the board.