Stephen Mukuha, one of the directors of Tuskys supermarket, a family-owned business, has died.
Mr Mukuha passed away on Sunday at Nairobi Hospital after being in a coma for nearly a month following brain tumor surgery.
At the time of his death, Mukuha was also battling cancer.
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“He died yesterday evening at a Nairobi hospital where he has been in a coma for over a month. He had a brain tumor and cancer and the last two years have not been good to him in terms of health. He was aged 64 years and had three children,” a family member told the Nation.
Mr Mukuha and his brother Gachwe Sammy Gatei were charged in 2016 with stealing Sh1.64 billion from the retail chain as the siblings battled for control.
Later, the siblings put their differences aside as they attempted to resurrect the store business with a funding injection of Sh2.1 billion from an anonymous Mauritian investor.
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His death comes at a time when the erstwhile retail behemoth is fighting landlords, suppliers, and banks for the forced closure of its stores due to a debt of more than Sh10 billion.
Following delays in retrieving a Sh1.6 billion debt from an unknown Mauritius entity, the retail chain decided to sell assets in some of its branches last year to prevent liquidation by more than 60 creditors.
According to court filings, the management announced that it had decided to sell non-core assets in order to raise Sh911 million.
Read Also: Court Gives Auctioneer Nod to Sell Tuskys Goods over Sh40 Million Rent Arrears
“The sale of non-core assets has been set out in the Applicant’s recovery plan as one of the sources of capital to finance the Applicant’s recovery, aside from its investors’ capital injection. It is also a key aspect of the Applicant’s plan to trim down its branch network,” Tuskys said.
The retailer started experiencing problems in 2011, when the stockholders, all of whom are siblings, disagreed on the retail chain’s direction.
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