Petition against Uchumi Supermarkets gathers pace.
The winding petition against Uchumi Supermarkets has gathered pace with the total claims by firms that have joined the suit approaching half a billion shillings mark.
Court records show that five firms have in the past two weeks joined the suit filed by Githunguri Dairy Farmers Co-operative Society bringing the total claims so far to Ksh471 million ($4.7 million).
Githunguri Dairy moved to court last month seeking to wind up Uchumi over its failure to settle a Ksh44.8 million ($443,828) debt, but the orders remain suspended.
“Take notice that Chandaria Industries Limited, a creditor of Ksh68, 767,473 ($681,270) of Uchumi Supermarkets Limited (Respondent/debtor) herein, intends to appear at the hearing of the petition advertised to be heard on October 17, 2018 and to support such petition,” reads one of the notices filed by Chandaria Industries.
Other creditors
Other creditors are Board of Trustees of Uchumi Supermarkets Limited staff provident fund which is claiming Ksh122.7 million ($1.2 million), Equatorial Nut processors Limited owed Ksh21.3 million ($210,995), Professional Marketing Services Limited owed Ksh4 million ($40,000) and Interconsumer Products Limited owed Ksh38.2 million ($378,405).
UBA Bank which is owed Ksh172 million ($1.7 million) by Uchumi is already in the suit seeking to dispose of Uchumi’s land situated on Langata Road to recover the debt.
Separately, household goods company Tropikal Brands Afrika have also sued Uchumi Supermarkets for Ksh35 million ($346,706) in unpaid supplies.