A huge number of Kenyans are set to lose their jobs after 109 companies announced their immediate shutdown.
The development was revealed through a gazette notice, after the Registrar of Companies, Hiram Gachugi, announced that the firms had been struck off the Register of Companies.
“Pursuant to section 897 (4) of the Companies Act, it is notified for the information of the general public that the following companies are dissolved and their names have been struck off the Register of Companies with effect from the date of publication of this notice,” it read.
The list of the affected companies cuts across various industries, including travel, healthcare, shipping, real estate, retail, construction, and investments.
Effectively, the companies will no longer be allowed to conduct business, enter into legal contracts, or operate bank accounts under their previous names.
The gazette notice did not reveal reasons for the dissolution of these businesses, although under the law, companies can be deregistered for various reasons ranging from failure to file annual returns to non-compliance with statutory requirements.
In some common cases, companies are deregistered because of inactivity over a prolonged period, while others voluntarily apply for closure.
Once a company has been struck off, the assets it still possesses become bona vacantia, meaning they are considered ownerless, and the state has the power to claim them. To avoid this, companies are usually advised to distribute their assets before dissolution.
Since the companies have been struck off, they cannot be revived or re-registered under the same name unless a new application is submitted and approved by the Registrar of Companies.
A further 78 companies also announced their imminent shutdown after disclosing their intention to dissolve, putting the employment status of more citizens at risk.
Gachugi notified that the companies would be struck off the Registrar of Companies in 30 days, further inviting any person to show cause as to why the companies should not be removed from the list.
Meanwhile, the registrar also announced that two companies had been restored. A company might be restored after it emerged that it was struck off by mistake, it was still active, carrying out operations and holding assets by the time it was struck off, the dissolution was detrimental to creditors, or via a court order.
