Parliament has directed the Treasury to convene a meeting with the Attorney General to secure Uchumi Langata Hyper from the planned auction.
The meeting according, to Finance Committee Chair Kimani Kuria should include the management of Uchumi and UBA bank which has expressed its intention to sell the property to recover a Sh162 million loan.
Kuria said a report from the meeting should be tabled within 30 days.
“The discussion should centre on securing the property and protecting the public asset, undertaking proper valuation of the Land to ascertain the actual value, and exploring the possibility of compulsory acquisition of the Land for use by the government and paying off UBA Bank,” Kuria said.
He was responding to a statement sought by Soy MP David Kiplagat regarding the impending sale of the property LR. No. 209/12593, under Insolvency Petition (IP) 25 of 2018.
Kiplagat had also requested an explanation regarding the government's plans to rescue Uchumi Langata property from being auctioned at a loss to safeguard public interest for posterity.
In his presentation, Kuria further notified the MPs that Uchumi had an outstanding loan of Sh162 million with UBA Bank, to which the bank went to court in April 2021, seeking leave to sell the property to recover the money.
However, in May 2022, the court dismissed UBA Bank's application observing that the government had commenced compulsory acquisition of the said property.
Kuria further notified the House that according to Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndu’ngu, the government was not privy to the court matter until October 5, 2023, when the letter from the acting CEO of Uchumi Supermarkets PLC was received.
It was during this time that they filed for a postponement of the ruling on October 18, 2023, to enable consultations within the government for a policy decision.
Kuria noted that based on the meetings the committee has held with the Treasury, the government is among Uchumi’s largest creditors with a loan of Sh1.2 billion, while the value of the property stood at Sh1.4 billion in 2018.
The UBA Bank debt in question is Sh162 million.
Majority leader Kimani Ichung’wah supported Kimani’s statement saying Treasury must act with speed to ensure that that property is not auctioned.
“It would be immoral of any government officer to allow such a property that is in a very prime location to be sold off. I agree with the Chair that the most honourable thing the National Treasury can do is to pay off that debt," Ichung'wah said.
"I am sure as legislators, we can approve the 162 million which is owed to UBA Bank. They can also agree with the bank to sell the property jointly,” Ichung’wa pointed out."
Kiplagat agreed with the recommendations of the Committee and emphasized the need to protect government assets.
