The estranged wife of William Oguda Osewe, the proprietor of Ranalo Foods, has suffered an early setback in her fight for control of the city business, after the court declined to grant her temporary restraining orders.
Ms Stella Mutheu, who co-owns Ranalo Foods with her former husband, wanted the High Court to compel her reinstatement into the management of the firm, grant her joint control over the company’s bank and M-Pesa accounts, appoint an independent auditor to scrutinise the firm’s finances and order the disclosure of the company’s financial records and information.
However, High Court Judge Njoki Mwangi declined the orders, noting that Ms Mutheu had not established a strong enough case to warrant the reliefs sought.
‘…I find that the plaintiff’s Notice of Motion dated April 8, 2025 lacks merit and is hereby dismissed with costs to the first defendant,’ said Justice Njoki in a ruling delivered on Friday.
Ms Mutheu-a 50/50 co-owner of the business trading as K’Osewe-also wanted the High Court to restrain her former husband from selling the assets of the company and reinstate her into the management of the restaurant.
She further sought orders barring Mr Osewe from disposing of company assets or altering shareholder details at the Registrar of Companies.
Ms Mutheu, who separated from Mr Osewe in 2022, wanted the hotelier restricted from opening new bank accounts and mobile payment wallets, arguing that he had sidelined her from the management of Ranalo Foods, which operates outlets on Nairobi’s Kimathi Street, in Parklands and on Kiambu Road.
She also wanted to be restored to active management, alleging she had been excluded from operations despite her 50 percent stake.
Justice Mwangi found that Ms Mutheu had failed to demonstrate that she had been unlawfully excluded from the management of Ranalo Foods.
The judge noted that evidence placed before the court showed Ms Mutheu continued to access company documents, M-Pesa transaction receipts and customer invoices, long after she claimed to have been sidelined, undermining her assertions of exclusion.
The judge further observed that Mr Osewe had been medically incapacitated for a long period following a near-fatal shooting in 2016, a fact supported by medical reports and not contested by Ms Mutheu, and that during this period the business was largely managed by the his ex-wife and children.
On the request for joint signatory powers, appointment of an auditor and disclosure of financial records, the judge held that these amounted to mandatory and intrusive orders that would interfere with the internal management of the company at an interlocutory stage, without proof of fraud, mismanagement or irreparable harm warranting such intervention.
Mr Osewe rose from hawking njugu karanga and mishikaki in Nairobi’s Kaloleni estate to build Ranalo (K’Osewe) into a celebrated brand known for Luo delicacies such as brown ugali and tilapia.
But his business later ran into headwinds that he linked to a near-fatal shooting which left him incapacitated for more than three years, compounded by stringent Covid-19 rules that hit hospitality revenues.
In a previous interview with the Daily Nation, he said the shooter had an affair with his wife, a personal ordeal that overlapped with the growing financial strain.
The shareholder wrangle between the two separated lovebirds also took a twist after Mr Osewe sought criminal charges against his ex-wife, alleging that she orchestrated his ouster from one of their businesses by forging minutes and a share transfer document, thereby transferring his 250 shares in Ranaldo Foods Dala Limited to herself. The case is ongoing.
As the disputes have raged on, financial difficulties have continued to dog their businesses. Auctioneers invited bids for Blue Waters Hotel, an incomplete three-star development in Kisumu’s Milimani area linked to Mr Osewe, even as apartments in Nairobi’s South C were also listed for sale over an unpaid Sh300 million loan to GT Bank.