KENYA: Court allows Mumias Sugar to export to EU
Published: 07/13/2012, 12:43:12 PM
The Mumias Sugar Company Thursday won a major reprieve after the High Court quashed a directive of the Kenya Sugar Board blocking it from exporting 15,000 metric tonnes of raw sugar to the European Union market, according to Kenya's Nairobi Star newspaper.
The court ruled that the decision of the board not to allow the sugar company to export sugar to the European market in 2011 was "tainted and influenced by external forces".
Justice Weldon Korir said the state corporation neglected to execute its statutory mandate and directed it to reconsider the request in 45 days. "In declining to allow Mumias Sugar Company to export the sugar, Kenya Sugar Board took extraneous factors into considerations," the judge ruled.
The judge said the fact that the respondent took three months to respond to the company's application points to a corporation which makes trading in Kenya an "unpalatable and nightmarish experience".