BRASILA: The High Court will today hear the case where activist Okiya Omutatah want 50,500 metric tonnes of brown sugar imported from Brazil by Sony Sugar barred from entering the Kenyan market.
This is after the same court granted the petitioner temporary prohibitory order to block the importer from offloading the sugar which docked at the Port of Mombasa on December 19 in two consignments of 25,500 and 20,000 metric tonnes aboard MV Holy. According to Omutatah, if the company is allowed to sell the sugar in the country it would disenfranchise the country’s cane farmers and equates it to dumping which he said is responsible for the damaging of the Kenyan sugar industry. Omutatah has named six respondents led by South Nyanza Sugar Company in a suit filed on December 29, 2017. Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority’s Sugar Directorate is which he blame for irregular issue of the import permit for 25,000 metric tonnes of sugar consignment on December 13, 2017 when the good were already on the high seas and close to the Port of Mombasa, where MV The Holy docked on 19 December 2017. The petitioner has accused the Sugar Directorate for failing to conduct due diligence and irregular issue of import permit to a third party, Sasi International Freight Logistics Limited, who applied for the permit on December 13, 2017 and was issued the same day. Despite obtaining an import permit for 25,000 metric tonnes of sugar, Omutatah claims that the logistic firm fraudulently imported an extra consignment of 25,500 metric tonnes of sugar, making its total to 50,500 metric tonnes. Star is in possession of custom entries for the two consignments marked custom entry 10001 and 200001 respectively. The first consignment weighing 25,000 metric tonnes of brown Brazilian sugar is exported by HOLBUD Limited based in London to consignee, South Nyanza Sugar Limited. It arrived at the Port of Mombasa on December 19, 2017 under entry number 2017MSA 6754453. The second bunch weighing 25,500 metric tonnes and originating from the same consignor to South Nyanza Sugar Limited also arrived on December 19, 2017 and was given entry number 2017MSA 6754462.