Kenya, Aug. 12 -- Kwale International Sugar Company (KISCOL), once touted as a linchpin of coastal agribusiness, now finds itself fighting on multiple legal and reputational fronts. Kiscol's dispute with its creditor, Epco Builders Limited, is now in the open, with the two struggling to influence public opinion on the matter.
The sugar firm has been in the past accused of mishandling loans and land grabbing and claims it is now struggling to fend off a renewed insolvency assault from EPCO Builders Limited.
The trouble began as a cascade: Epco, a contractor and creditor, has repeatedly publicized an insolvency petition; the notices appeared in national papers in 2018, 2019, and again in August 2025, asserting unpaid debts and pressing for liquidation.
The filings, formally registered as Insolvency Petition 07 of 2019 in the Commercial & Admiralty Division of the High Court at Nairobi, have placed fresh pressure on a company already beleaguered by accusations of financial mismanagement and contested land titles.
While Epco frames its campaign as a lawful recovery effort, KISCOL portrays the notices as a malicious attempt to intimidate stakeholders and extract an unjust settlement.
Complicating matters, KISCOL's defenders note a mixed record in the courts.
A Court of Appeal ruling referenced by the company reversed an earlier High Court decision and underscored that any debt claimed by Epco remained disputed and must be proven at trial, language that, while stopping short of an outright dismissal, has prolonged uncertainty and given Epco procedural openings to press its claim in public forums.
The tug-of-war has left KISCOL asserting solvency and a USD 385 million (KSh 50 billion) independent valuation on one hand, while publicly contesting what it calls "dubious" claims on the other.
Overlaying the debt dispute is a separate, deeply emotive land dispute that has now reached the Senate.
Residents of Ramisi Phase I Block 5056, represented by Mkupuo Network Awareness, petitioned lawmakers after the Environment and Land Court in Kwale ordered compensation and land resettlement in January 2023.
That decree, which awarded ex-gratia compensation of KSh 170 million for one village and called for relocation of affected families, was to be implemented within 12 months.
To date, petitioners say the award remains unfulfilled, leaving families displaced and livelihoods shattered while accountability stalls. Petitioners asked the Senate to compel rapid payment of the compensatory funds and to oversee resettlement, arguing that protracted delay has inflicted prolonged hardship on vulnerable communities.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Bana Kenya.