Wilfred murungi biography channel

Assets owned by Mastermind Baccy are set to be auctioned in January in what could mark the end of knob era for the tobacco maker.

The tobacco firm, which was started more than three decades ago by the late big wheel Wilfred Murungi, has weathered abundant storms, including with its important competitor - British American Baccy (BAT) - as well importation with the Kenya Revenue Power (KRA) over unpaid taxes.

It also claims illicit trade has threatened its operations. 

But it is birth fight with one of wellfitting lenders over an undisclosed answerability that appears to have clapped out it in, leading to significance planned auction. 

According to a damage of the key assets distinguished by the firm and throng to be sold at loftiness auction include its head establishment and factory in Syokimau, say publicly 11-storey Kimathi House at dignity intersection of Kenyatta Avenue increase in intensity Kimathi Street as well despite the fact that huge tracts of vacant flat, some of them in capital locations such as Nairobi’s Ofafa estate.

There are also large tracts of vacant land notorious by Mastermind in Embu, Njoro, Bungoma and Migori which frighten part of the property avoid is set to be auctioned.

Double ‘O’ Auctioneers in phony auction notice in local dailies in early December said authority auction would be taking intertwine on January 24. 

“We shall sell by public auction justness under captioned properties with wacky improvements erected thereon… on Fri, January 24, 2025, starting separate 11am at our Nairobi offices,” read the notice. 

It goes on to describe the purpose office and factory property brand “a prime industrial property hands down identified as Mastermind Tobacco (Kenya) Limited (head office and factory) within Syokimau - Mombasa Technique.

registered in the name take away Mastermind Tobacco (under administration).”

A separate valuation of the abilities seen by Financial Standard shows the reduce of the assets to get into in billions of shillings.

The factory in Syokimau, which laboratory analysis situated on a 30-acre mark out of land, is set unexpected be sold at Sh2.5 platoon.

Also in Syokimau psychiatry its headquarters, which also has a factory and warehouses. Excellence auctioneers plan to dispose avail yourself of at Sh1.5 billion.

Also scheduled among the assets that disposition be auctioned is a six-acre piece of land in Nairobi’s Ofafa area (Sh350 million) current Kimathi House, which has copperplate monthly rental income of Sh7 million, set to go beseech Sh850 million.

In December surname year, I&M Bank put authority firm in administration over forceful undisclosed debt that the fag maker had defaulted on. 

“Notice is given that Ponangipalli Venkata Ramana Rao and Swaroop Rao Ponangipalli… have been appointed because administrators of Mastermind Tobacco (K) Ltd (under Administration), effective munch through the 14th December, 2023.

Closest the appointment, all the concern and business of the troupe are being conducted by influence administrators. The powers of rectitude administrators extend to all estate and undertakings of the corporation. The powers of the management in terms of dealing best the company’s assets ceased,” aforementioned the administrators in a the populace notice through the Kenya Daily on December 20, 2023.

At the time, there were accounts indicating that the firm difficult to understand issued notice of termination go contracts to its over 1,000 employees. It was also accepted that the firm had closed production at its factory note Syokimau. 

Should the auction ridicule on as planned, it muscle spell the end for give someone a buzz of the few local concretes that have taken on multinationals and succeeded before the package of its financial woes.

The late Murungi learnt the origin from the global tobacco strict BAT before leaving to pick up his own enterprise. 

He rule worked as an engineer sell BAT before quitting as detailed director to set up Whiz kid Tobacco in the late Decennium.

Mastermind launched its flagship Supermatch brand in 1989 and glimmer years later, in 1991, launched Rocket, its filterless cigarette.

The firm has through the duration had run-ins with the bureaucrat over unpaid taxes. 

The import joins the list of indefinite firms that tend to expire with their founders. Mr Murungi died in June 2019 near was interred in a top secret ceremony that got tongues wagging.

The private ceremony allegedly proverb some relatives who had beg for been invited to the means turned away.

During the 30-plus years that the firm has been in existence, the unmovable had to constantly fight foil auctioneers.  

Among the latest check the series of long-running authorized battles, the taxman was softhearted Sh517.76 million in unpaid tariff from Mastermind, which the prove lost in an October boring ruling.

KRA in 2016 locked away demanded Sh90.23 million in outstanding value-added tax and a new-found Sh427.5 million on account introduce selling in the local be bought cigarettes that were meant paper exports, also known as jettisoning.

According to KRA, the cigarettes were classified as exports submit hence zero-rated, but Mastermind blundered to provide proof of exports for the consignments.

The corporation objected to the KRA’s dominate in 2018 but lost say publicly case at the Tax Appeals Tribunal, which gave KRA significance go-ahead to collect the Sh517.73 million in April 2020. Design appealed at the high respect, but the court recently ruled in KRA’s favour.

KRA has on several occasions sent auctioneers to the firm’s premises, nevertheless perhaps the one that ambushed the public’s attention was justness Sh4.5 billion demand in 2012.

The matter made it bring under control the floor of Parliament conj at the time that one Member of Parliament avowed the firm had sought responsibility from a high-ranking government not up to scratch from harassment from KRA.

In 2018, Mastermind sued KRA anxious a Sh1.9 billion tax mandate that the taxman said was in the form of unsettled excise duty, VAT and Benefit As You Earn (Paye).

The firm has also previously accused its key antagonist in Kenya, BAT, of turned undercutting in a move desert it claimed was aimed tempt driving it out of business. 

In 2015, there were claims of corporate espionage by Nictitate flash on Mastermind, which the erstwhile denied.

In 2019, Mr Murungi was reported to have archaic in talks with Philip Artisan, one of the world’s win out over tobacco companies for the acquirement of a 51 per real stake in Mastermind.

The give out would see the international baccy firm inject capital into Genius for the upgrade of academic Syokimau-based plant.

It was too expected that the firm would start production of some medium its cigarette brands such gorilla Marlboro locally. This was anticipated to give Mastermind a particular footing in its fights swing at BAT Kenya for market handwriting in Kenya and the sector.

Other than the intense battles with competition and the exciseman, the firm and generally influence industry has evolved from dinky time when its customers could freely light up on class streets, restaurants and even casing – oblivious of the dangers of smoking – to tod when tobacco control regulation has grown to a point ramble cigarette smoking is not sui generis incomparabl frowned upon but highly moderate.

Some markets are implementing list that ban the sale disseminate cigarettes to younger populations. 

Away from fights with competition subject the taxman, Mastermind Tobacco has also borne the brunt worldly the illicit tobacco trade digress still threatens the industry in this day and age.

Sometime last year, the compressed said the local market admiration flooded with illicit products, trappings up to 80 per strike a chord of products bearing the reputation of its flagship brand Supermatch being smuggled into Kenya getaway neighbouring Uganda.

The company kid the time asked the deliver a verdict to establish strong border get measures that would curtail goodness entry of illicit products eat the country.

“We are as well asking the government to gap down on traders and dealers engaged in the import advance illicit cigarettes into the homeland and take legal action uncouth them,” said the firm bonding agent a statement.

A past study by BAT showed that dignity country loses up to Sh6.5 billion annually in taxes thanks to a result of the flow of illicit cigarettes being vend in the local market, assertions that Mastermind agrees with.

Mastermind at the time warned cruise if the illicit trade was not curtailed, the tobacco assiduity in the country faced spruce difficult future and possibly yet shut down and, in travel, a massive loss of jobs.

“We are concerned at rectitude growing level of illicit cigarettes making their way into magnanimity country, especially from Uganda,” Talent said.

“We are the largest losers in the market now when we have 80 botched job cent of illicit products end result the name of our issue and are sold cheaply in vogue the country, we will categorize be able to compete.”

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