Africa Merchant Assurance Company (Amaco), an insurance firm linked to Deputy President William Ruto, has filed for liquidation in the High Court of Kenya Commercial and Admiralty Division, Nairobi.
A Gazette notice seen by this writer revealed that the petition was filed by one Beth Kahara and six others. It was mentioned on November 7.
Through B.W. Kamunge & Company Advocates, the petitioners called on Creditors and any contributory of Amaco to appear for the hearing slated for January 30, 2020.
“Any creditor or contributory of the said company desirous to support or oppose the making of an order on the said petition may appear at the time of hearing in person or by his advocate for that purpose and a copy of the petition will be furnished by the undersigned to any creditor or contributory of the said company requesting such a copy on payment of regulated charge for the same, ” the notice reads in part.
Liquidation is a process in which a company stops operating and sells all its assets in order to pay its debts. The remaining assets are distributed to owners.
Read: Amaco Insurance Loses Office Furniture Over Ksh15 Million Debt
The developments come months after the firm hit headlines after it lost its office furniture to auctioneers over a Ksh15 million debt it owes to Mama Rael Medical Clinic.
The clinic was raided by Dollar Auctioneers, who acted on behalf of the clinic in a bid to recover the money for unpaid claims.
This is despite Amaco collecting over Ksh2.1 billion in terms of customer premiums last year, which is enough to clear the claims.
Amaco reported a Ksh75 million after-tax profit for the year ended December 31, 2018. The earnings were boosted by lower operating costs.
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Its liabilities decreased by 17 per cent to Ksh1.8 billion compared to Ksh2.1 billion the previous year. Its claims also dropped by five per cent from Ksh1.4 billion in 2017 to Ksh1.3 billion in 2018.
Word has it that Amaco is politically targeted, mainly over the DP’s 2022 Presidential ambitions.
For many years the company is said to have benefited from government tenders.
Earlier this month, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i threatened to revoke licenses of non-performing insurance firms.
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To many, the threat seemed to be directed to Amaco, the firm linked-to insurance dealings with the police service.
Speaking at APTC College, Embakasi in a ceremony organised to honour fallen heroes, Matiang’i said the government will protect families of departed officers and their widowers and widows will be accorded the services they deserve without delay.
“In consultation with the attorney general, we’ll cancel contracts of non-performing insurance companies. We shall only deal with firms and service providers who value the work we do. Widows and widowers of officers who have died in the line of duty will no longer be denied services they deserve,” he said.
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