Singh Rai: CCTV Footage Shows Moment Kabras Sugar Boss Was Kidnapped While Inside His Vehicle

• Jaswant Rai Singh is still missing after a Kidnapping incident in Nairobi's Kilimani area on Friday, August 25
• The kidnappers had been trailing him while onboard a pick-up vehicle into which they forced him after removing him from his own
• Jaswant, the sole proprietor of Kabras Sugar Company, is the custodian of the Will left behind by his father Tarlochan Singh Rai who died in 2010

Nairobi - The whereabouts of tycoon Jaswant Singh Rai remain unknown after a kidnapping incident.

Viral CCTV footage has been published detailing the moment his abductors, suspected to be the police, removed him from his vehicle in Nairobi's Kilimani area.

Tarlochan Rai son's kidnapping incident

Jaswant had been caught up in a traffic snarl-up along Wood Venue when he was ordered out of his vehicle and led to another one waiting on the side, which drove off moments later.

The pickup vehicle in which the kidnappers drove had been trailing the billionaire known to be the sole proprietor of the Kakamega-based Kabras Sugar Company.

His immediate family booked a missing person report under OB No 21/26/08/2023 at the Kilimani Police Station a day later.

To join the tycoon's family in seeking to know of his whereabouts was activist Boniface Mwangi who called on the relevant authorities to help trace him.

"The owner of Kabras Sugar, Jaswant Singh Rai, was kidnapped while in traffic. A missing person report was filed at Kilimani Police Station. President William Ruto promised an end to this criminal behaviour. Help find Jaswant," said Mwangi.

Also to raise an alarm was the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) president Eric Theuri, who implicated the state law enforcers in Jaswant's missing.

"Jaswant Singh Rai was kidnapped yesterday, on 25th August, at about 4.00pm by persons believed to be 'police officers' along Wood Avenue, Kilimani, Nairobi. His whereabouts remain unknown. The family has reported a case of missing person," he said.

Tarlochan Rai's property row

The missing person belongs to the famous Rai family, which is the proprietor of multiple business empires in Kenya.

He is the custodian of the Will left behind by their patriarch Tarlochan Singh Rai who died in 2010.

His close kin have however accused him of seeking to administer their family estate as a loner.

The Rai family property row has seen the other listed beneficiaries gang up against Jaswant in court.

For instance, in 2021, his mother Sarjij Kaur Rai took him to court seeking to object to his move to secure a court permission to execute the Will as per his wish.

The family has interests in agriculture, timber, cement, edible oils, real estate, and horticulture.

They also have empires in Uganda and Tanzania, where they own Kanyara Sugar Works and Mufumbira Paper Mills.

The family rose to fame when it acquired the debt-ridden Pan Paper Mills in Webuye at a cost of KSh 900 million.

Their patriarch Tarlochan, who hailed from India, made forays in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by purchasing tea and coffee estates left behind by Belgians after colonisation.

He, alongside his siblings, also owned Rai Agricultural Estates in Kenya but sold the company in 1969.

In 1971, Tarlochan and his sons Jaswant, Jasbir, Sarbjit and Iqbal Rai incorporated RaiPly Kenya, which deals with timber products.

Their empire has expanded since then.

Businesses owned by Rai family

1. Rai Cement

According to its website, the company was established in 2017 to serve customers in the North Rift, South Rift, Nyanza and Western regions.

The cement manufacturer is located along the Kericho-Kisumu highway.

A 50kg bag of cement retails at over KSh 600.

In 2020, Rai Cement won a tender to supply concrete poles to Kenya Power in a deal worth KSh 43 million, Daily Nation reported.

2. Menengai Oil Refineries

The Nakuru-based company manufactures cooking oil, fats, soaps, detergents, baking powder and skin care products.

Its oil products include Top Fry, Somo Vegetable Cooking Oil, Somo Fry and Karibu Vegetable Cooking Fat.

The company also manufactures the Menengai soap brand.

3. RaiPly Kenya and Timsales

The family controls the timber business in Kenya through RaiPly Kenya and a stake in Timsales associated with the Kenyatta family.

In 2020, Timsales bagged a KSh 112.87 million tender to supply wooden poles to Kenya Power.

Timsales manufactures plywoods, fibreboards, block boards, flush doors and timber, while RaiPly makes chipboards, ceilings, block boards, parquet, wooden tiles and polythene bags for sugar companies.

4. Tulip properties

The Rai family have invested in the lucrative real estate industry under Tulip properties.

Jaswan Sing Rai serves as the director of the company that made headlines over land scandals.

In 2020, Jaswan was accused of fraudulently obtaining a 16-acre plot in Embakasi valued at KSh 1.6 billion.

In his defence, he claimed he bought the land from the late retired president Daniel Moi but did not provide documents to prove his case.

5. West Kenya, Sukari and Olepito industries

According to Business Daily, the Rai family controls half of Kenya's sugar industry.

They own West Kenya, Naitiri, Olepito and Sukari Industries. Tejveer Singh Rai manages West Kenya Company Ltd, which produces the Kabras sugar brand.

Besides producing sugar locally, the family has been importing the commodity to meet the shortfall.