Tanzania firm wins Sh860m award for Kenya chaos loss

File Photo 

In Summary

• KPA was found to have mishandled 21 containers of fruit juice and mineral water.
• The lawsuit is one of the first successful claims arising from the political turmoil that paralysed business in Kenya and the larger East Africa region.
• Sixteen firms from Uganda and Rwanda have separately sued the Kenyan government seeking Sh4.7 billion.
• The petitioners claim that the government, through the police, failed to accord their trucks adequate security, leading to loss of their property.

By THE CITIZEN

A Tanzanian dealer has won Sh860 million in compensation for a consignment lost during the 2007-2008 post-election violence, in a landmark case that could open the floodgates for similar suits against the Kenyan government.

The High Court in Mombasa ordered the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) to pay Modern Holdings East Africa the amount after it was found to have mishandled 21 containers of fruit juice and mineral water that consequently denied the importer any profits that would have accrued from sale of the products.

The lawsuit is one of the first successful claims arising from the political turmoil that paralysed business in Kenya and the larger East Africa region for nearly two months, and could open the door for other firms to lodge claims for lost business opportunities during the chaos.

The upheaval brought businesses to a halt, culminating in huge losses that ended with the signing of a power-sharing deal between then President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Sixteen firms from Uganda and Rwanda have separately sued the Kenyan government, seeking Sh4.7 billion for goods and property destroyed during the turmoil.

INADEQUATE SECURITY

The petitioners claim that the government, through the police, failed to accord their trucks adequate security, leading to the loss of their property.

They have also faulted the government for opening highways to use in clash-prone areas.

Their trucks were attacked and destroyed along the Nakuru-Eldoret-Malaba and the Nakuru-Busia highways.

The KPA moved Modern Holdings' consignment to the privately owned Makupa Transit Shade following a pile-up of containers at its premises during the post-election melee.

Modern Holdings insists that the KPA did not notify it of the move, and did not ensure that the consignment was safely stored.

The company says it was forced to pay unreasonable storage charges amounting to over $1 million (Sh100 million) at Makupa and that it was unable to locate 15 of its containers, a development that, it argues, led to loss of profits it could have earned from the sale of its fruit juice and mineral water.

Modern Holdings insists that the juice inevitably expired as it was trying to sort out the confusion and sued the KPA for compensation.

Modern Holdings sells Masafi fruit juice, mineral water and tissue across Africa.