CMC may drive out of business.

If it okays the meeting, that will be a big boost to the group led by Mr Peter Muthoka, the single largest shareholder of the firm (about 24.7 per cent) and until a month ago the largest service provider to CMC through Andy Forwarders, who are trying to make a return to the company after losing control to the group led by Mr William Lay, the current chief executive.

By calling for the extraordinary AGM, whose sole purpose is to oust four of the current directors, Mr Muthoka seems to have done his arithmetic well to know that he has the numbers to cause a coup at Bomas.

And should the court rule that CMA has a right to exercise its regulatory role, which would include cancelling the November 21 meeting and thus giving the current management more time to complete investigations on the company’s past transactions, the process will witness a long drawn-out battle for control.

CMA has indicated that it prefers to retain the status quo to allow investigations to be complete.

Mr Muthoka is said to have been making at least Sh500 million annually from CMC by offering shipment and other logistic services through Andy Forwarders. The new management has since cancelled the contract.

Mr Lay is the face of the new group, led by chairman Joe Kibe and Mr Paul Wanderi. The two have a combined stake of about 18.72 per cent, held individually and through their companies: Rift Valley Finance Services and Mobicom.

The group argues that Andy Forwarders has been overcharging for its services by between 10 and 100 per cent, bleeding the company by over Sh500 million annually.