One of President William Ruto’s close confidante and political financier David Langat, alias DL is broke and facing auction.
Several properties owned by the billionaire businessman face the hammer on July 31 and August 1, 2023 over heavy indebtedness.
On Monday, a multimillion shilling tea estate…. DL Koisagat Tea Estate Ltd owned by Langat was put up for auction after failing to pay his debts.
The estate, spanning 1,342 acres and situated in Nandi County, owned by the influential businessman is now up for sale. Property to be sold in the tea estate include office block, factory building, workers’ housing and the tea plantation.
Additionally, a property in the port city of Mombasa, used by Langat’s DL Group for tea handling and packaging, is also up for auction.
The Mombasa property, located off Moi Avenue, is owned by Koisagat which is one of the country’s most prominent black tea exporters and procures teas from farmers in Nandi County.
Those interested to buy the tea estate are required to deposit Sh 10 million while those interested in the Mombasa property should pay Sh 5 million deposit.
Another of the tycoon’s properties, a multi-billion prime industrial property along Mozambique road, Shimanzi, Mombasa is also facing auction.Langat, the chairman and founder of DL Group of Companies, is a little-known billionaire who has made significant contributions to Kenya’s business landscape.
According to a public notice from the Garam Investments auctioneers, the parcel encompasses 1,342 acres and features a dedicated tea zone for export-oriented commercial tea cultivation.
The estate boasts 2.47 million tea bushes across 958.75 acres, alongside 100,942 eucalyptus trees and 2,223 cypress trees. Garam’s notice describes the subject property as a 0.7-acre plot housing a four-story office block and five go-downs. These go-downs serve various purposes, including the processing and packaging of tea products.
Langat amassed his fortune through import and export ventures and later expanded into agribusiness, real estate, energy, hospitality, insurance, and special economic zones (SEZs). DL Group, his firm, indicates that importing and exporting goods, including electronics and furniture, were among its earliest activities after its establishment in the 1980s.
In the 2022 elections, Langat supported President Ruto’s bid for State House. As a reward, President Ruto appointed him to the National Investment Council alongside other prominent entrepreneurs and executives, such as billionaire businessman Humphrey Kariuki and Sitoyo Lopokoiyit.
Langat gained prominence when he shared his plans of starting the Africa Economic Zones (AEZ) Pearl River Industrial Park in Uasin Gishu county, a Ksh 200 billion industrial hub.
This ambitious project, in collaboration with the Guangdong New South Group, aimed at revolutionizing Kenya’s manufacturing industry.
The industrial park, which was to cover 700 acres once completed, was to be developed in three phases: a special economic zone, a science and technology hub, and a recreational zone. But since that launch, everything went silent, raising questions over its viability.
