Investors battle for multi-billion new-found minerals in Taita Taveta

Australian mining investor Mark Stephenson at Nation Centre on November 11, 2015. Mr Stephenson, an Australian, says after sinking close to Sh100 million into the project, his partners want to throw him out and sell the company to a Chinese investor for Sh1 billion. PHOTO | WILLIAM OERI |

What you need to know:

  • Australian Mark Stephenson says after sinking close to Sh100 million into the project, his partners want to throw him out and sell the company to a Chinese investor for Sh1 billion (USD10 million).

  • The saga will mimic a 1970s case in which an American investor and geologist, John Saul, was declared persona non grata after he discovered ruby mines in Taveta worth millions of dollars.

  • This later triggered a diplomatic row between Kenya and US.

A battle for the control of newly-discovered multi-billion shilling manganese and copper mine is on in Taita Taveta.

One of the investors is accusing the police and senior government officials of attempts to scare him out of the country.

Australian Mark Stephenson says after sinking close to Sh100 million into the project, his partners want to throw him out and sell the company to a Chinese investor for Sh1 billion (USD10 million).

PERSONA NON GRATA

The saga will mimic a 1970s case in which an American investor and geologist, John Saul, was declared persona non grata after he discovered ruby mines in Taveta worth millions of dollars. This later triggered a diplomatic row between Kenya and US.

Mr Stephenson claims officials at the Registrar of Companies helped one of the Irish directors of Universal Resources International (URI) to attempt to change the directorship of the company and install people who have not contributed capital.

When Stephenson’s lawyer, Boniface Njiru, complained to the Registrar, a State Counsel, Colleta Maweu, in a letter dated February 27, 2015, dismissed the CR12 which lists new company directors as “a forgery (which) does not originate from our office.”

The investor arrived in Kenya in 2010 after selling his properties in Australia hoping for better prospects in mining manganese in Taveta.

Trouble started after Mr Stephenson discovered one of the directors he had brought on board had registered a separate company in Uganda and transferred some of the capital and machinery.

The two groups have now been in and out of court tussling over who owns the company holding a crucial mineral prospecting license.

Although the matter of the forged documents — to facilitate the Chinese sale — was reported to police in July this year, the suspect — Michael Lynch — was let free after being arrested by officers from Kilimani.

FORGERY CLAIMS

From available documents, it appears Mr Lynch too had in 2011 recorded a statement at Central Police Station claiming Mr Stephenson and two others had “attempted to remove us from the company by forging documents at the registrar of companies.”

The dispute however centres on the future of a company whose directors have fallen out and some are using  State machinery to elbow others out of the mining fields of Taita Taveta where the company had an Exclusive Prospective License. In the ensuing tussle, machinery worth millions of shillings has disappeared and bank accounts with about US$70,000 frozen.

“I have also been left fighting court cases…it is frustrating to an investor,” says Mr Stephenson.

Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko has asked the Director of Criminal Investigations to investigate the complains after one of the parties alleged that the police have taken sides in the case.