Amos Khaemba, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over four years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

– The High Court has dismissed a petition seeking to halt the operations of Metropol Corporation Limited as a licensed Credit Reference Bureau (CRB), despite serious allegations of regulatory violations, data mishandling, and financial mismanagement.

The suit was filed by the Commission for Human Rights and Justice, which accused the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) of failing to take decisive action against Metropol over governance failures.

Among the claims was that Metropol’s Group Managing Director, Samuel Umukoko, allegedly earned more than KSh 100 million despite lacking a formal appointment.

The petitioner urged the court to declare Umukoko unfit to hold public office for alleged mismanagement and misrepresentation.

The commission further asked the court to compel CBK to revoke Metropol’s CRB licence in line with multiple alleged breaches of the Banking (Credit Reference Bureau) Regulations, 2020 — including failures related to corporate governance, board composition, regulatory reporting, and data integrity.

According to court documents, a July 2022 inspection report from CBK’s Supervision Department revealed that Metropol was operating with only four directors, contrary to Regulation 43(1), which requires a minimum of five.

CBK directed the company to hold an emergency board meeting within 15 days and imposed a KSh 2 million penalty for non-compliance. However, the board only convened six months later, in December.

The inspection also found that the company’s board failed to meet quorum requirements, held irregular meetings, and lacked independence.

Financial irregularities were also flagged — including a KSh 29 million salary paid to the managing director without formal appointment and the unexplained withdrawal of KSh 828 million from company accounts.

Equally alarming were data protection concerns. The commission claimed that Metropol had onboarded 199 unauthorised agents to handle sensitive personal data without CBK approval, a breach that risked the misuse of confidential financial information.

These agents were reportedly paid substantial commissions, despite not being formally recognised by regulators.

In court, the lobby group emphasised that the severity of the breaches warranted an immediate halt to Metropol’s operations.

“It is imperative that this Court stamps its authority and halts their operations… No party will be prejudiced,” the petitioner argued.

Despite acknowledging the gravity of the CBK findings, Justice Lawrence Mugambi ruled that the evidence presented did not meet the threshold required to suspend Metropol’s CRB licence. The court dismissed the petition, allowing Metropol to continue operating under CBK

Source: TUKO.co.ke