*They had lined up to loot Kenya’s minerals if Odinga had won. It was Odinga’s son at the centre of this maize scandal. No? They are also after Kenya’s rare minerals!! *
*Man at the centre of Sh500m maize case caught up in mining licence controversy* Mr Jacob Juma, the man thrust into the spotlight for trying to seize the National Cereals and Produce Board storage silos and the strategic grain reserves over contested debts, has again made news over the cancellation of mining licences earlier issued to a firm in which he has an interest. The company, Cortec Mining Kenya Ltd, claims it has discovered nobium, a rare earth mineral, worth trillions of shillings, in deposits in Kwale County. Mr Juma has been an active player in the dubious business of hoarding and speculating in mining licences. On Monday, Mining cabinet secretary Najib Balala cancelled 42 licences suspected to have been awarded irregularly to individuals he described as speculators and briefcase companies. Mr Juma is a director of Cortec, the entity behind recent claims of discovery of billions of dollars worth of nobium in Mrima Hills, Kwale. The ownership of the company is the subject of litigation after a local company, Kingdom Minerals, moved to court arguing that it was the original owner of Cortec Kenya Mining Ltd. The defendants in the case which is still before the High Court at Milimani are Cortec Mining Kenya, Cortec Pty of the UK, Sterling Capital, Mr David Anderson and Mr Donald O’Sullivan. Mr Juma is also a director of another mining company, Pwani Minerals, which has made a claim on three mineral blocks in Kilifi county considered to have deposits of titanium and rare minerals. Until last late last year, the licence for the three blocks was in the hands of a Canadian company, Titanium International. When the Canadians sold their assets in Kenya to Base Titanium of Australia, the right over the Kilifi Blocks were transferred to the Australian company. However, in December last year, then Environment minister Chirau Mwakwere issued a gazette notice cancelling all the Kilifi Titanium licences. Base Titanium went to the High Court where it got an injunction against Mr Mwakwere. During the injunction hearings, Mr Juma claimed he had an interest in the Kilifi titanium licences and that the injunction sought was likely to undermine his interest in the blocks. The case is pending in court.
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