As the stocks of Mumias Sugar, ARM Cement and Deacons East Africa enter an eighth year under suspension at the Nairobi bourse, investors are demanding answers from the capital markets regulator over the delays in resolving the companies’ receiverships.
The three stocks are among the six that are currently frozen from trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), locking in Sh27 billion in paper wealth for the affected investors.
A shareholder of Mumias Sugar, Taiti Hanningtone, has now petitioned the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) through city law firm I.C. Law LLP, asking for reasons for the continued suspension of the stock, and whether the company has been complying with regulations requiring it to furnish shareholders with material information, including financial results.
In the letter, he added that the prolonged suspension has left shareholders without sufficient information concerning the regulatory status and future of their investment.
Mumias was suspended from trading in September 2019 after it was placed under receivership for defaulting on a debt to KCB Bank. At the time of suspension, Mumias owed banks Sh12.5 billion.
“The statutory framework is premised upon fair, efficient and transparent capital markets, full, timely and accurate disclosure of material information, investor protection and the fair and equitable treatment of issuers and investors,” reads the letter in part.
“In our respectful view, those objectives require that shareholders should not be left indefinitely uncertain as to whether their securities remain suspended temporarily, whether there is a defined pathway to resumption or whether the investment is ultimately destined for delisting.”
Mumias’ stock was initially suspended for three months, before being extended by a further three months at the expiry of the period. In April 2020, the CMA announced that its freeze had been extended indefinitely, alongside that of Deacons East Africa.
Even as the sugar miller remains suspended from trading, its assets in Western Kenya were leased to Ugandan businessman Sarbjit Singh Rai through his firm Sarrai Group in 2021, for a period of 20 years.
Mumias was trading at Sh0.27 per share when it was suspended, with a market capitalisation of Sh413.1 million.
Deacons was put into administration in November 2018 after its directors called in administrators amid piling debt following the loss of key franchises like Woolworths and Mr Price. The company was trading at Sh0.45 per share, translating to a market valuation of Sh55.6 million at the time of suspension.
For ARM Cement, the suspension of trading was effected in August 2018 shortly after the company was put under administration as it struggled to service debt of Sh14.4 billion. This suspension locked in Sh5.33 billion in investor wealth in the company, which last traded at a share price of Sh5.55.
The cement firm’s assets in Kenya were acquired by National Cement, owned by businessman Narendra Raval, in 2020 for Sh5 billion as part of a liquidation exercise by the administrators to raise funds to pay creditors.
Despite further asset sales in Tanzania and Rwanda, shareholders did not receive any dues since the company underwent what is known as an insolvent liquidation, where total liabilities exceeded the total value realised from the sale of assets.
More recently, in June 2025, the shares of investment firm TransCentury and its subsidiary East African Cables were suspended from trading indefinitely after the firms were seized by Equity Bank over unpaid debt of Sh4.74 billion.
TransCentury and EA Cables were valued at Sh1.26 billion and Sh432.8 million respectively when they were frozen from trading.
The joint receivers are in the process of disposing of TransCentury's assets to recover funds on behalf of creditors, while EA Cables is set for sale to an investor who intends to revive the company and repay its share of the debt to Equity.
Bamburi Cement shares also remain suspended from trading at the NSE, pending the possible delisting of the company after it was fully acquired by Tanzanian businessman Edhah Abdallah Munif through his conglomerate Amsons Group.
