News –SportPesa brand ownership wrangles have taken another twist as two worrying factions accuse each other of contempt.
For instance, Milestone Game Limited is being accused of disrespecting court orders that were issued on September 19. The orders stopped it from running betting business under the ‘brand SportPesa’ who’s directors are current Kasarani Member of Parliament Ronald Karauri and a Bulgarian national.
In the court papers seen by this writer, a director of Pevans East Africa, the firm that established SportPesa, describes Milestone’s continued use of the SportPesa brand as a ridicule to the court that issued the orders; and what ought to be punished.
“The defendants’ disobedience is designed to defeat justice and render the proceedings herein a nullity and a mere academic exercise,” said Asenath Maina, who is a director of Pevans.
“The claimant invites the honourable court to rise to its judicial duty to defend the integrity of the judicial process, the constitutional values of rule of law and to defend the administration of justice by forthwith punishing the defendants for their egregious acts of contempt committed against this honourable court,” her prayers also read.
After Nairobi High Court Judge Anthony Ndungu, on September 19, suspended Milestone’s license received from the Bettíng Control and Licensing Board (BCLB), the firm went back to court to protest the verdict which it termed as unfair.
“Orders given by this honourable court on the 19th of September were issued without first hearing the interested party and thus amount to a violation of the interested party’s non derogable right to a fair trial,” Milestone’s operating manager Bernard Chauro’s affidavit stated.
This would trigger a reaction from the licensing board BCLB where two directors, Joy Masinde and Sabrina Kanini, disowned the betting license No 00448 issued to Milestone to run SportPesa.
This court battle between Pevans(owned by Ms Maina and Paul Ndung’u) and Milestone is slated for mention on Monday.
