Photo Caption : Bidco director Vimal Shah (left) and Tatu City chairman Nahashon Nyagah.
A report filed on events at the controversial multi-billion shillings Tatu City project has now turned dramatic linking the Nyagah family and their allies to the scandal.
The complainants are Stephen Armstrong Jennings, lead investor and founder of Rendeavour that is the majority owners of Kofinaf Co Ltd and Tatu city Limited and Robert James Reid who is also a shareholder in Rendeavour and holds power of attorney for Galba Mining Limited, the majority foreign owner of shares in Purple Saturn Limited.
Investigations touched on conspiracy to defraud. The value of shares involved amounts to approximately Sh5.3 billion. The shares are owned by the owner of Kofinaf in the name Cedarsoc based in Mauritius.
The report has 12 suspects linked to the fraud of transfer of shares between February and August 3 2015 with the Nyaga family adversely mentioned.
Those on the list are chairman of board of directors Nahashon Ngige Nyagah, who was interviewed and had nil shares.
There is former CEO Tatu City and board adviser Jeremy Nyagah Njeru a cousin of the Nyagahs. He is nominee director of Purple Saturn another firm in the controversy and holds shares in trust for Galba Mining.
Judy Wanjiku Ngugi, former employee of Nahashon Nyagah’s sister Rachel Mugo, is nominee director of Purple Saturn withholding shares in trust for Galba. Monica Muthoni Magua relative of one of Nahashon Nyagah’s longtime friends is also nominee shareholder in Purple Saturn since 2013 and holding shares in trust for Galba Mining Limited.
Job Peter Lenoserui served as a security man at the home of Nahashon Nyagah. He is nominee shareholder in Purple Saturn holding shares in trust for Galba Mining Limited.
There is Henry Ogada Obande. He is a fellow church member of Nahashon Nyagah at the New Convenant Church. He is nominee shareholder in Purple Saturn.
Jane Muthoni Njanja is a friend of Nahashon Nyagah’s sister Rachel Mugo. She is nominee shareholder in Purple Saturn since 2013 and holds shares in trust for Galba.
Erastus Karanja Kibiro is former employee of Nahashon Nyagah and a nominee shareholder in Purple Saturn and holds shares in trust for Galba.
Tatu Estate from Socfinaf was the first estate purchased by Renaissance Partners (Jennings) in 2008 for the amount of US dollars 21.7 million. Jennings had asked for his local partners Vimal Shah, Nyagah and Stephen Mwagiru to contribute to the purchase but they did not.
Accordingly, Jennings lent the local partners’ investment vehicle US dollars 10 million so that they could purchase an equity stake in the purchasing company. This loan has never been repaid by the local partners. In 2009, Stephen Jennings arranged the international finance for the purchase of the remainder of the Socfinaf farms on behalf of Cedarsoc, a Mauritius Company. The local partners had stated that they would arrange a loan for US dollars US dollars 62.5 million from Kenyan banks but they could not.
At very short notice, Jennings then organised the finance for Cedarsoc via a consortium of international financiers including Renaissance Partners for the amount US dollars 62.5 million. The debt was secured against the land titles of Tatu City and the other farms of Socfinaf.
The company’s name was changed from Socfinaf to a public company known as Kofinaf Co Ltd. Jennings and his offshore investors as foreigners could not own agricultural land in Kenya and therefore Nyagah being a local partner volunteered to provide a number of nominee shareholders who would hold their single shares on behalf of and in trust for the beneficial owner CedarSoca Mauritian holding company.
The shareholding structure of Kofinaf Co Ltd as set out in the current available at the companies registry in Nairobi states that Nyagah does not hold any shares. Nyagah was appointed chairman of the board of directors at Jennings’ absolute discretion as the controller of the majority shareholder.
It appears that the principal reasons for this appointment was that he had hosted the foreign investment consortium led by Jennings and had convinced them of his probity as a local partner.
Originally, according to Kofinaf’s complaint, the local partners were afforded a 50pc shareholding in Cedarsoc and their Mauritian special purpose vehicle was called Manhattan Coffee Investment Holdings. The investment thesis was that CedarSoc would repay the loan of US dollars 62.5 million as soon as possible by selling off some of the farms. This did not happen as planned as Stephen Mwagiru placed illegal caveats on the land titles in order to defraud the other partners including the foreigners.
While Kofinaf Co Limited could not sell farms because of Mwagiru’s actions, the loan repayments that were due from the lender (CedarSoc) and/or its guarantor Tatu City Limited were made by the complainant Jennings and his other foreign investment consortium.
Norman Nyagah, former MP Kamukunji, has been accused of interfering in the matter protecting anybody from the side of Nahashon Nyagah.
