A Nairobi pastor has written to Chief Justice Martha Koome demanding that a magistrate handling his dispute with multinational beverages giant Diageo PLC be removed after declining to certify as urgent an application seeking permission to privately prosecute executives of East African Breweries Limited (EABL).

JILK Construction Company Limited, which is owned by Pastor Sammy Maina Kamau of Ridgeways Pentecostal Church, accuses the magistrate of bias after the court ruled last week that its application seeking leave to institute private criminal proceedings against Diageo officials was not urgent.

In a letter signed by lawyer Kibe Mungai on behalf of JILK, the company now wants the magistrate barred from hearing the matter and replaced with another judicial officer.

The dispute between JILK and the brewer stretches back nearly a decade. In 2016, the construction firm was contracted to undertake civil works related to the expansion of a brewing facility in Kisumu under Kenya Breweries Ltd, a subsidiary of East African Breweries Limited (EABL), which is majority owned by Diageo PLC.

The relationship later deteriorated after disagreements over the execution of the project, and JILK eventually abandoned the construction site. The contractual dispute subsequently moved to arbitration.

Separately, a female employee of JILK has told the court that she reported a sexual harassment complaint to Muthaiga Police Station in 2020. By that time, the alleged perpetrator had already left the country.

Those allegations now form the basis of the private criminal prosecution application filed by the company. JILK is seeking permission to prosecute EABL executives, arguing that the company’s officials failed to assist in bringing the alleged perpetrator to justice.

On Friday, March 6, the magistrate directed that the application be served on the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) before the matter can proceed.

Court filings also reveal that the issue had been raised years earlier, but was postponed on Pastor Sammy Kamau’s direction.

In an affidavit filed in support of the JILK’s case,the alleged victim states that she had wanted to pursue the matter in 2019 but was advised by Pastor Sammy Kamau, the CEO and owner of JILK, to delay pursuing the complaint while his commercial dispute with the brewer was ongoing.

The dispute has now resurfaced at a time when Diageo PLC is in the process of selling its controlling stake in EABL to Japan’s Asahi Group Holdings, a transaction valued in the billions.

JILK is seeking to halt the proposed sale, arguing that the ongoing dispute and its allegations against EABL officials should first be resolved before the ownership of the brewer changes hands.