Kidero: I didn’t bring down Mumias

Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero on Sunday denied accusations that he is responsible for Mumias Sugar Company's woes.

Dr Kidero said the company made Sh1.1 billion in profits during his first year in charge after he turned it round from a loss-making firm.

He said in his nine years at the helm, the company made profits and farmers were paid on time. The governor said records were audited yearly and filed at the Capital Markets Authority and the Nairobi Stock Exchange.

Dr Kidero said allegations that he stole money at the company are meant to injure his reputation because he made his money by working hard.

“When someone asks me where I got my money, I wonder. I was a director at SmithKline in charge of 47 countries when I was 29. I was a managing director at Nation Media Group. Was I being paid in bananas?” He said.

Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale wants President Uhuru Kenyatta to deal with Dr Kidero, whom he accused of overseeing the looting and eventual destruction of the company. He spoke last week when the President presented a Sh1 billion cheque to bail out the miller.

BAILOUT 'NOT ENOUGH'

Dr Kidero said his name is not among the people suspected to have stolen from Mumias, adding that his image is being tarnished.

The governor has vowed to take the senator to court for him to present the evidence he claims he has against him. “You cannot determine the guilt of someone at a public rally. To clear my name, I will have to go to court,” he said.

Dr Kidero said Mumias Sugar can only be helped if the competing factories around it are stopped from buying its cane. The leader said that when he was at the helm he had fought off the factories, which were registered against the Sugar Act, from “poaching” cane from Mumias farmers.

“Even if you give Mumias Sh6 billion, you cannot help it unless you stop factories, which have not planted their own cane, from taking the company’s share.

Dr Kidero blamed the management that came in after him for failing to look after the farmers. The governor also said that production of ethanol at the miller is what can save it.

The governor’s name was dragged into the collapse of the plant after he was extensively named in commercial, procurement and importation scandals that sunk Mumias based on a draft audit report by audit firm KPMG.

KHALWALE RESPONDS

However, in a tweet last night, Dr Khalwale said: "The KPMG report is very clear. Tell Kidero to stop soliciting for sympathy and face me like a man. Kidero must be surcharged and (I) will see to that personally. Tell him to stop dreaming about an apology.”

Elsewhere, Cord leader Raila Odinga on Sunday evening said transactions between the troubled Mumias Sugar Company and a company associated with his family should not be politicised.

He said that the company, Spectre International, bought molasses on credit from the sugar miller just like any business.

“The company buys molasses from Mumias, Nzoia, Chemelil and even Uganda, if it owes the company money it has nothing to do with politics,” he said.

Mr Odinga, who was talking on television station K24's "State of the Nation", said the transaction was guaranteed by National Bank or else Mumias Sugar Company would not have allowed the company credit.

Mumias Sugar Company says it is owed Sh241 million by several companies and individuals, including Spectre International Limited.