Uchumi to hold first shareholders' meeting in eight years

Struggling retailer Uchumi is set to hold the first annual general meeting (AGM) in eight years this month.

In a call to shareholders on Tuesday, Uchumi said it would hold the AGM on April 29, during which shareholders will receive and adopt financial statements for the seven financial years to 2025, review reports from the board and appoint three new directors to the board.  

Uchumi last held an AGM in March 2018 at a time when there was optimism that it would secure a strategic investor who would inject Sh3.5 billion in capital to help in its turnaround, but the company had failed to find an investor.  

The retailer currently operates under a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), an agreement between the company and its creditors supervised by the court. 

“Notice is hereby given that the 38th annual general meeting of the company will be held online on Wednesday, April 29, 2026,” said Uchumi in a statement, adding that among the business for the day would be to “receive, consider and adopt the financial statements for the financial year ended June 30, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.” 

The shareholders will also vote on the directors’ recommendation not to pay a dividend for the eight financial years. 

By failing to hold AGMs over financial years, Uchumi has been in breach of numerous laws governing listed firms in the country that require companies to publish audited financial statements within specified timelines but also denied shareholders their rights to discuss and vote on different issues affecting their company.  

The company’s directors earned a sitting allowance of Sh3.3 million in 2024, up from Sh732,856 in 2023, according to the company’s annual report. The directors’ remuneration was increased and paid without shareholder approval. 

Uchumi, once a formidable player in Kenya’s retail sector, has since been struggling, and it is only recently that it has been able to get some revenues after it started leasing out some of its premises. These include Langata Hyper, which is leased to, among others, China Square.  

According to a recent CVA report, Uchumi reported a net profit of Sh8.8 million in the nine months to September compared to a loss of Sh49.7 million in 2024. 

Over the period, Uchumi’s income from dealing in other businesses, including rental income, stood at Sh62.74 million, having grown from Sh13.54 million in 2024. It had the impact of growing its total income to Sh90 million in 2025 from Sh29 million in 2024.  

China Square accounted for more than 80 per cent of the rental income. The Chinese firm, according to the CVA report, paid a monthly lease fee  of Sh5 million for the space at Langata Hyper, which is 84 per cent of the Sh5.94 million that Uchumi earns from different tenants every month at what was once one of Uchumi’s largest and key retail spaces. 

The company remains in a technically insolvent position, with over Sh10 billion in total liabilities exceeding Sh3.15 billion in total assets. 

The company has, in the past, hinged its survival and also payment of some of its debts to creditors on the sale of a 17-acre piece of land in Kasarni to which it claimed ownership.

The land, valued at Sh2.3 billion, was, however, taken over by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) in 2020 and has since then been subject to a court case. The High Court in May last year ruled in favour of KDF. Uchumi has since appealed the ruling. 

“The company was actively engaged in litigation against the KDF over Kasarani Mall Ltd’s investment property. The success of the CVA is largely hinged on the disposal of the asset. The Court on 19th May, 2025 delivered a judgement against the Company,” said the Uchumi CVA in a past report. 

“Orders were issued for the cancellation of the company's title. An appeal was lodged against the judgement, and the Board of Directors strongly believes that there exists a high chance of success.”