Staff of yuMobile demand details of sale agreement

By JOHN MUTHONI

A lawyer representing 223 employees of a mobile phone company that is up for sale has asked the court to compel the management to produce the sale agreement.

Lawyer Charles Kanjama wants the court to compel Essar Telecom Kenya Limited to produce all communications between it and both prospective buyers – Airtel and Safaricom – about the disposal of the company.

Kanjama is also seeking documents submitted to the Communications Commission of Kenya on restructuring of the company commonly known as yuMobile.

The lawyer told the court that they had made frantic efforts to obtain the documents from the management in vain.

Before High Court judge Nduma Nderi, the employees said they must be informed of any negotiations based on Article 35 of the Constitution, which safeguards their rights in case they are to be laid off.

“The petitioners do stand substantial risk since the CEO has failed to disclose any material information about the entire transaction,” Kanjama said.

The applicants told the court that Safaricom, as alleged by their CEO, had offered them jobs but on condition that they dropped the petition and did not join any union.

In addition, they were to accept the transition to the same company and not accept payouts by the respondents.

The applicants say they want to have everything that happened between Essar and both buying companies. In an application under a certificate of urgency, Kanjama is also seeking to have Essar CEO Madhur Kant summoned before the court to answer why a warrant of arrest should not be issued against him for disobeying court orders.

Kanjama also urged the court to compel Kant to deposit his passport, visa and other travel documents in court pending the hearing and determination of the petition. Alternatively, he is to provide security sufficient to satisfy the applicants’ claim of Sh1.25 billion if the application is allowed.