Moringa School, a Kenya-based software development training institution, has been fined USD 5,000 for implementing a buyout without seeking approval from, let alone notifying, the Competition Authority if Kenya(CAK).
The coding school was initially founded by Audrey Cheng and Frank Tamre. Mr. Tamre however exited the partnership in 2016, and his 50% stake was acquired by Ms. Cheng, therefore changing the company’s ownership from joint to sole.
Moringa School volunteered this information to the regulator after the fact.
A statement by CAK on the buyout read, “The Authority engaged the two parties and, upon interrogating the relevant documentation, confirmed that the merger had been implemented without approval.”
Kenyan Law, in Section 41(2) (a) of the Competition Act states that no persons, individually or in concert with another person, should implement a proposed merger without approval by the CAK.
CAK added that both parties acknowledged having contravened this law. The regulator said, “It is worth noting that administrative penalties take into account deterrence and proportionality of the infringement.”
Moringa is one of many companies on the wrong end of this law, that have been penalized by the CAK for contravening the competition law and misleading customers.
In 2018, Artcaffe Coffee and Bakery Ltd were fined USD 800 by the regulator for its misleading menu.
Harambee Sacco and Faulu Microfinance Bank were each fined for contravening sections of the Competition Act by misleading representations of their products to customers, as well as engaging in unreasonable conduct to secure or maintain customers.
Moringa School was founded in 2014. and has since expanded its presence to train students in Ghana, Pakistan and Hong Kong.
It employs close to 100 people and has trained over 1,000 students in a wide range of coding technologies.
The regulator however noted that the change of ownership, while undisclosed, was unlikely to have had a negative effect of competition in the education sub-sector of technology coding.
