Mastermind Tobacco Begins Layoffs Over Debt Problems

According to Pulse, Mastermind Tobacco has terminated the contracts of about 1,000 employees due to undisclosed debt problems.

The company, which is owned by the estate of the late Wilfred Murungi, stopped cigarette production six months ago.

Mastermind Tobacco, which imported more than half of its raw materials into Kenya from Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has been involved in legal disputes with employees and local tax authorities.

In 2019, Mastermind Tobacco reached an agreement with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to sell the company’s main assets to settle tax arrears of KES 2.9 billion (about $188.3 million). Earlier this year, the company lost a KES 517 million lawsuit involving the KRA after the High Court refused to allow it to submit new evidence.