Uchumi Supermarkets PLC has issued notice of its 38th Annual General Meeting, scheduled for 29 April 2026, the first shareholder meeting the troubled retailer has convened since 2018, as it battles to avoid liquidation under a court-supervised debt restructuring that remains unresolved after six years.
- •The online meeting will ask shareholders to adopt financial statements for eight consecutive financial years, covering periods ended 30 June 2018 through 30 June 2025, in a single sitting.
- •Three new directors, John Mwara, Anne Makori, and Rebecca Juma, are proposed for election, while John Karani, George Karanja, and Baiju Shah retire without seeking re-election.
- •For the year ended June 2025, Uchumi recorded an operating profit of KSh 8.8 million on revenue of KSh 86.29 million, a 67% increase from KSh 51.71 million the prior year.
The improvement was driven almost entirely by rental income from the conversion of the Langata Hyper branch into a mall, with China Square contributing approximately 84% of monthly rental receipts after commencing lease payments in December 2024. The net position remains negative. Total liabilities stand at KSh 9.8 billion against a business generating KSh 86 million in annual revenue, with obligations to banks, the Government of Kenya, Kenya Development Corporation, staff, pension funds, and the Kenya Revenue Authority collectively exceeding KSh 3.7 billion in documented claims.
The AGM follows a creditors and members meeting held on 20 February 2026, at which shareholders and creditors received the Q4 2025 Credit Valuation Adjustment (CVA) Monitor Report and considered a memorandum on a proposed new CVA structure. The existing framework, approved by creditors on 2 March 2020 and ratified by the High Court on 1 July 2020 under Insolvency Petition No. IP 25 of 2018, was built around the sale of a 20-acre parcel in Kasarani, Nairobi held through subsidiary Kasarani Mall Limited, with the 17 acres still in dispute valued at KSh 2.38 billion.
That anchor assumption has collapsed with the Kenya Defence Forces occupying the land and the High Court ruled in KDF's favor. Uchumi has appealed under Court of Appeal reference E455 of 2025, with Senior Counsel appointed and proceedings that could escalate to the Supreme Court on constitutional grounds. CVA Monitor FCPA Owen Koimburi has stated in court filings that if the appeal fails, liquidation is the only remaining option. The Capital Markets Authority has declined Uchumi's request for an NSE suspension, stating the company cannot be allowed to fail.
On the NSE, the retailer trading using ticker UCHM has led the bourse in 2026, gaining 95.15% year-to-date as of 7 April, extending a 500% rally recorded in 2025. The gains bear no relationship to the company's operating fundamentals. The rally is characteristic of penny stock dynamics on the NSE, where a low absolute share price attracts retail speculation disproportionate to underlying fundamentals. Uchumi's share price spent much of 2019 - 2025 below KSh 0.20, making it an accessible entry point for retail investors chasing momentum.
