Uchumi supermarket cannot be saved

Uchumi has had a bad reputation over the years regarding the financial ability to sustain profitability.

Last year, it survived a court petition to wind up after several creditors held that it owed them close to Sh300 million. In January, it announced that it made a Sh2.8 billion post tax loss.

The latest scandal will send stakeholders crying to the bank because there is no waking up from a Sh67 million debt. The current situation of Uchumi can be likened to that of a patient fighting for life in an Intensive Care Unit.

Even as it continues denying the allegations made by Euromart regarding the Sh67 million debt, Uchumi has in the past failed to pay back suppliers.

It has also made no successive attempts of revival that can put it on the ranks of fellow competitors. At this moment, all it needs is an exit strategy to give space to those in the same business.

The Government should stop trying to bail out the supermarket and use the money on other serious matters such as paying doctors and even feeding the drought stricken families in Northern Kenya.