Keroche Breweries, the country’s largest indigenous beer maker, has gone to court seeking billions in damages after what it calls a “false and malicious” insolvency petition.
In documents filed this week, the company accuses a former employee of triggering panic among investors and consumers by lodging a flawed liquidation case earlier this year. The firm says the move has sullied its brand and placed jobs and farm incomes at risk.
“The advertisement has falsely signalled insolvency, sparking panic among stakeholders and causing irreparable reputational and commercial harm,” the brewery argues in its filings.
Keroche is asking for KSh10 billion ($66 million) in compensation and a public apology. It also wants an injunction to stop further circulation of the insolvency notice, which was published in the Kenya Gazette on 21 August.
At the heart of the dispute is a petition lodged in May by Sam Kruss Shollel, a former Keroche staff member. The brewery claims the statutory demand underpinning the case was invalid, arguing it was improperly signed by a court official rather than the petitioner, a breach of the Insolvency Act.
The company portrays the matter as an abuse of insolvency law, saying it has been used as a weapon in a private dispute. It points to what it describes as “vexatious litigation,” including a contempt case that was later withdrawn.
Founded in Naivasha, Keroche holds about 15 percent of Kenya’s alcoholic beverages market. The firm employs more than 500 people and says it supports over 10,000 farmers through its supply chain. It also earns foreign exchange from exports.
Management warns that the insolvency narrative could have wider repercussions. “If left unchecked, it risks job losses, reduced government revenue, and unnecessary instability in the market,” the company states.
Lawyer Karuku Wachira, representing the brewery, told the court that the petition “has no legal basis and was intended to inflict reputational damage.”
The case will test how far Kenya’s insolvency framework protects companies from reputational harm while upholding creditor rights. Legal analysts say the outcome could set an important precedent.
For Keroche, long seen as a symbol of home-grown enterprise in a market dominated by multinationals, the fight is as much about reputation as it is about money.
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