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Wrangles at the management of a water company are threatening supply of the commodity to 40,000 consumers in the face of a biting drought.

Wrangles have hit Mutitu Water and Sanitation Company Limited, which was established as a community self-help group in 1995 by Mugunda Catholic Parish under the stewardship of the then Parish Priest Father Romano Fillipi. Chief executive Charles Muturi claimed their detractors are applying all efforts to cripple company operations and heap the blame on the management.

Muturi (pictured) said that a fortnight ago, the company reticulation infrastructure worth Sh2 million was vandalised right from the intake at Kanjuiri in Aberdare Forest.

“We have had challenges from time some people realised that Father Romano is exiting. They think the company is a cash cow and would therefore like to control it from inside,” he said.  However, a section of community members, led by Joseph Kagiri, dismissed the assertions by the management, claiming that the management, without consultation converted the company into a private entity by changing its status after playing around with provisions of the Companies Act, 2015.

“We are aware that the management has taken full control and ownership of this company yet it ought to be a public entity by registration. This is all we are fighting to correct,” Kagiri said.

He said the group was first registered as a company in 2002, however, records at their disposal indicate that it was turned into a private company in 2009.