Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Willy Bett. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Summary
- Mr Tum was controversially removed as CEO of Kenya Seed in 2003 following revelations that he had irregularly transferred ownership of the firm to the family of former President Daniel arap Moi.
- He was a key member of the Moi-era elite that controlled the levers of power but lost out immediately the Narc administration under Mwai Kibaki took over.
- The battle for control of Kenya Seed has been in and out of court for 14 years.
Agriculture secretary Willy Bett has
appointed a former Kenya Seed Company chief executive to the State
firm’s board, raising the prospect of reviving an ownership war that has
dogged it for nearly 15 years.
Mr Bett, who is also a
former Kenya Seed managing director, announced in a Kenya Gazette notice
last Friday that he had appointed Nathaniel Tum to the company’s board
for a three-year term that began on February 7.
Mr Tum
was controversially removed as CEO of Kenya Seed in 2003 following
revelations that he had irregularly transferred ownership of the firm to
the family of former President Daniel arap Moi. Mr Tum has over the
past 14 years been fighting for control of Kenya Seed in a war that is
centred on a 2001 share sale deal that effectively transferred the
parastatal to private hands with minority State ownership.
Mr
Tum, whose troubles began immediately Mr Moi left office in December
2002, now seems to have struck a rapport with President Uhuru Kenyatta’s
administration as its term in office draws to a close.
Mr
Tum was a key member of the Moi-era elite that controlled the levers of
power but lost out immediately the Narc administration under Mwai
Kibaki took over.
The battle for control of Kenya Seed
has been in and out of court for 14 years -- the latest round having
been Mr Tum’s 2014 attempt to oust government-appointed directors
through a shareholders’ meeting. Kenya Seed’s troubles started in 2001
after the management under Tum issued new shares and sold to the Moi-
era elite in a transaction that diluted government stake from 52.8 per
cent to 40 per cent.
Richard Leakey, who was at that
time the head of the Public Service, wrote to Mr Tum, expressing
reservations over the transaction.
The Agricultural Development Corporation, the agency
that holds the government stake, also opposed the transaction but the
Kenya Seed management ignored the objections and proceeded with the
sale.
In 2003, senior managers led by Mr Tum lost a bid to reverse their dismissal when the government reclaimed the company.
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