Shock as Goldenscape Greenhouses Fails to Pay Investors, Goes Silent

Kenyans who invested with Goldenscape Greenhouses fear they have lost their money after the agribusiness company failed to pay them and went silent.

Investors were initially set to receive payments in November last year but that was pushed to February 29th, 2020, with the company blaming the delay on poor weather patterns and poor market uptake.

“Our internal systems coupled with tough weather patterns the past few months caused a great setback in our line of business as some crops went bad or were destroyed as primary or secondary reasons of poor yield and loss of few markets.”

“Nevertheless, we have been able to settle some few investors’ returns on investments. Remember, our insurance covers crops and not markets, so the poor market uptake is solely within our purview,” the company said in a letter to investors and promised to pay in February.

Later, the company is said to have sent amended contracts to investors via email with reduced returns and reduced contract period, according to complaints posted on Goldenscape’s Facebook page by some investors.

“If you have seen the new amendments, this is a joke, people took loans depending on the contract promise at that time now amending to what is proposed is totally against the agreement and contract regulation,” Enos Wangukwa said on Facebook.

The company has since closed its offices along Kimathi Street and at Karen in Nairobi and no office phone is working, Citizen TV reported. The whereabouts of the company’s CEO Peter Wangai are also unknown and all his phones remain switched off.

“Please my fellow Kenyans if you are thinking on investing with Goldenscape DO NOT they promised to pay investors on 29th Feb 2020 but instead of paying them they were sent emails with amended contracts with reduced returns and reduced contract period,” said Munene Alicia on their page.

The new contract states that investors who wish to withdraw from the company can only get their capital after eight months. In one of its investment packages, Goldenscape was promising investors annual returns of Sh550,000 for an investment of Sh320,000. 

Other reports claimed that the company was also issuing fake cheques to investors. Goldenscape was started in 2014 and has been advertising aggressively on local TV stations.

“If they had paid people they would post of it. But since 27th they haven’t updated anything and haven’t responded to anyone’s post. Just observe. Can someone ask for a refund coz I don’t want this game I better put my money in a money market fund. They have failed,” an investor, Faith Delina, said on Facebook.

The company’s last Facebook post was on February 27th, when it announced it was diverting to herbs farming.