More Woes Continue To Follow Keroche Breweries Over Legal Dues

More trouble continues to follow Keroche Breweries after a law firm that has been defending the Naivasha-based alcohol manufacturer in cases against the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) petitioned the High Court to wind up the troubled brewer over a debt of Ksh233.7 million.

Hamilton Harrison & Mathews (HHM) Advocates wants the brewer liquidated under the Insolvency Act and an official receiver appointed as the provisional liquidator.

The law firm says Keroche has been unable to settle the legal dues that arose in the firm’s long-running fight with the KRA that have seen the taxman shut down the brewer over a Ksh9.1 billion unpaid bill.

“In the circumstances, it is just and equitable that the company be liquidated,” the law firm says in the petition, which is to be mentioned before the High Court’s deputy registrar on October 13.

The brewer obtained orders blocking the taxman from closing the factory pending the determination of the case. While allowing the reopening of the company, the High Court directed Keroche to be paying the demanded tax in instalments.

Owned by the Karanja family, Keroche previously linked its woes to a Ksh351 million demand, but KRA sought to paint the brewer as a tax cheat who owes the State over Ksh22 billion in unpaid taxes.

The tax battle has been charged with political undertones after its co-founder, Tabitha Karanja, opted to join politics. Keroche’s legal woes mounted recently after the Employment and Labour Relations court directed it to pay its former Managing Director, Sam Shollei, Ksh45.5 million for unlawful sacking.

In the case filed by HHM, the law firm says Keroche’s debt stood at Ksh233.7 million as of July this year for four different cases and continues to attract interest. Keroche had sought to delay the demand of the payments or quash the amount, but the plea was rejected by the High Court in March last year.

The law firm says the unpaid fees stem from legal services that it rendered to the company while fighting against KRA before the tax appeals tribunal.

The brewer has been fighting KRA’s bid to shut down its factory over unpaid tax.