East African Cables

East African Cables PLC has faced a significant blow in its legal battle with Equity Bank (Kenya) Limited, as the Court of Appeal dismissed its application for an injunction, effectively allowing the bank to proceed with the sale of four prime properties.

This ruling marks a critical development for the struggling cable manufacturer, which has been seeking to prevent the forced sale over a reported debt exceeding Kshs. 2.2 billion.

The decision, delivered by Justices J. Mohammed, Tuiyott, and Nyamweya, upholds a High Court ruling from November 11, 2024, which had also dismissed East African Cables’ initial application to halt the sale.

East African Cables had sought to prevent Equity Bank from advertising, selling, or otherwise dealing with properties identified as L.R. No. 209/4235, L.R. No. 209/8176, L.R. No. 209/6982/1, and L.R. No. 209/6982/2, pending the outcome of an intended appeal. The company argued that the appeal had strong prospects of success and that a sale of the properties would render their appeal nugatory.

However, the Court of Appeal, while acknowledging that East African Cables had an “arguable appeal” concerning the interplay of existing interim orders from another case, ultimately ruled against the injunction. The court’s decision hinged on Section 99(4) of The Land Act 2012, which stipulates that any person prejudiced by an improper exercise of the power of sale has a remedy in damages.

“That is the complete answer to any person who offers his or her property as security in exchange of a Bank facility and pleads that the lender is acting improperly,” the judges stated in their ruling.

Given Equity Bank’s status as a “tier 1 Bank” the judges said it has the ability to pay any damages incurred should East African Cables receive a favourable final judgement in the dispute.

This means Equity Bank is now at liberty to proceed with its statutory right to sell the four properties, which were offered as security for facilities granted to East African Cables. The interim orders that had temporarily protected the properties have been discharged.

For East African Cables, this ruling intensifies the pressure on its financial standing and could lead to the loss of significant assets. The company’s next steps will likely involve pursuing the full appeal, although the immediate threat of the property sales looms large.

East African Cables has welcomed the court injunction stopping Equity Bank from placing it under administration as it announced that its operations would continue as usual.

High Court on Monday stopped attempts by Equity Bank to take over East Africa Cables and its parent company Transcentury PLC.

The Court Injunction issued on the appointment of an administrator to East African Cables took effect immediately ensuring business operations continue as usual.

“East African Cables PLC (“EAC”) would like to inform shareholders, partners, and the public that the company has obtained a court injunction in regard to the notice dated 16th June 2023 issued by Equity Bank to appoint an administrator to EAC,” said EAC chairman Michael G Waweru.

Waweru said the injunction is on the basis that the bank appointed an administrator while parties were engaged in negotiations.

He said: “I am glad that the brief setback that this unfortunate action had brought to the business is behind us and we can now focus on what we do best, providing quality cables to our customers across the region.”

In a press statement, Waweru decried the “ extreme and unfortunate action” by Equity Bank.

“ We have been in what we viewed as positive discussions with the bank up until a day before the appointment of the administrator, therefore the extreme and unfortunate action taken by the bank came to us as a surprise,” he said. “EAC is a renowned and astute business and we’ve been committed to meeting our obligations and continue to do so despite the prevailing challenging macro environment.”

The injunction by Justice Alfred Mabeya of the Milimani Commercial Courts put a stop to the appointment of the administrator and restrained them or their agents from performing any actions in the capacity of administrator of the company.

The move allows EAC to return to focusing on the business operation and strategy.

East African Cables is a household brand in the region, with the largest electrical cable manufacturing plant in East and Central Africa.

Since 1966, the company has played a key role in the electrification drive across the region, connecting households, factories, and streets with power.

EAC has over 200 employees in Kenya and Tanzania and works with a wide network of electricians, traders, distributors, consultants in the business ecosystem.

EAC CEO Paul Muigai added that “East African Cables is the undisputed number one cable brand in the region, we have built an admired brand that is powering nearly all homesteads, factories, streets in this country and beyond. We are synonymous with the electrification success of this country and are confident of our business model and the unwavering support from our customers, staff and shareholders. We are delighted to resume serving our customers in every corner of our country!”