Imports by Kairo had morphed into one of the most popular car dealerships in the country before a nasty ownership wrangle sent the company crumbling. The firm is currently owned and operated by Clement Victor Kinuthia.
Mr. Kinuthia was a part owner of the company alongside James Wambui, alias Khalif Kairo.
Imports by Kairo was largely associated with Khalif Kairo, and thanks to his marketing prowess, especially leveraging social media, the company’s sales skyrocketed.
An internal leadership struggle in 2022 saw Wambui forced out of a company he claims to have founded in 2017. He alleged that Mr Kinuthia coerced and threatened him, leading to his departure from the company.
Kinuthia, however, dismissed the allegations, claiming that Kairo was never the CEO of Imports by Kairo, describing him as only a mere salesman.
Decline in Business
In 2023, Clement Victor Kinuthia revealed a drop in sales revenue at Imports by Kairo citing multiple reasons. He dragged Khali Kairo to court in a serious defamation suit.
Kinuthia had accused Kairo of using social media to defame him and discredit his company, leading to reduced sales and cancellation of orders by clients. He claimed that his former partner had made false and damaging utterances against him and Imports by Kairo in a post on his social media pages.
Many clients were cancelling their orders and asking for refunds, something Kinuthia says almost the company out of business.
He argued that Kairo had led clients to believe that he was the overall manager of Imports by Kairo and that his departure from the entity and founding a new company, Kai & Karo, alluded to IBK being out of business.
Kinuthia revealed that an auditor had reviewed the company’s books and indicated that there were discrepancies in accounting. The company had a Ksh3 million debt on its books.
He sought to have the court block Mr Wambui from conducting competing business under the name Kai & Karo pending the determination of the case.
Fraud accusations
Clement Kinuthia was arrested on December 31, 2023, and spent the night in custody after a customer accused him of fraud. The aggrieved customer told the police that he had paid Ksh6 million for the importation of a car, but the dealer failed to deliver.
Kinuthia had also been arrested in November 2023, and charged in court for obtaining Ksh2.9 million from a client on the pretext that he would import a car.
He was accused of obtaining Ksh2.94 million from Sharon Chepkorir on June 19, 2022, in Nairobi to import a vehicle on her behalf. According to court documents, Kinuthia was arraigned to court by warrant of arrest after he failed to appear in court prior to taking a plea.
Appearing before Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Bernard Ochoi, Kinuthia denied the charges and was released on bail.
Imports by Kairo shareholding
The company was registered under two directors, Kinuthia, who took 45 per cent of the stake, and Karanja, 45%. The remaining 10% was reserved for the company.
According to reports, Karanja did not stay at the company for long; he took his profits elsewhere and transferred his shareholding to Kinuthia.
