Lawyers representing hundreds of former East African Community (EAC) employees have given the liquidators of Crown Agents Limited seven days to provide a detailed account of investigations into a disputed pension claim worth approximately Sh. 65.2 billion.
In a letter dated September 16, 2026, the legal representatives challenged the liquidators’ position that investigations had failed to identify pension assets belonging to the former employees.
The lawyers are demanding documentary evidence showing the steps taken to trace the contributions and establish what happened to the funds.They argued that a statement indicating that no assets had been found was insufficient without verifiable records of the investigations conducted. The legal team said its clients remained open to an amicable settlement but warned that court action could follow if the liquidators failed to provide satisfactory answers within the seven-day deadline.
The dispute concerns retirement contributions allegedly held in trust by Crown Agents on behalf of former EAC employees before the regional organisation collapsed. The pensioners claim the funds were subsequently transferred to the Tanzanian government, leaving them without their expected retirement benefits.
In correspondence dated May 19, 2020, Ithagi stated that Sh. 1.59 billion had allegedly been paid out on January 31, 1987. He further claimed that approximately Sh. 104.94 billion remained outstanding for 1,606 pensioners. However, a proof of debt submitted on March 6, 2026, placed the current claim at approximately Sh. 65.25 billion. The information provided does not explain the substantial difference between the earlier figure and the latest claim.
The former employees are also seeking accountability from the British government, which has denied responsibility for the disputed pension scheme.
In its latest response, the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said it had no records relating to the scheme and directed the claimants to the liquidators and The National Archives. The department also maintained that the British government was not a shareholder in Crown Agents Limited when the company entered liquidation, following the transfer of assets to a successor company under the Crown Agents Act 1995.
In an earlier letter dated November 29, 2019, the UK government argued that responsibility for the pension dispute rested with the former EAC partner states under the 1984 Mediation Agreement. It also maintained that any claim filed in England would be time-barred. Despite these positions, the pensioners continue to seek answers about the whereabouts of their retirement contributions and the circumstances surrounding their alleged transfer.
Crown Agents Limited entered compulsory liquidation on August 1, 2024, with Robert Goodhew and Benjamin Wiles of Kroll Advisory appointed as joint liquidators. The liquidators have maintained that their investigations did not identify pension funds and that no dividend is expected to be paid to unsecured creditors.
The latest demand seeks to establish how the liquidators reached that conclusion and whether sufficient efforts were made to trace the disputed assets.
The seven-day deadline marks a renewed attempt to resolve a dispute that has persisted for decades, with the pensioners’ lawyers warning that further legal proceedings remain an option. The legal team says many of its clients are elderly and have spent years pursuing retirement benefits they believe are rightfully theirs, making a resolution increasingly urgent.
