A late-night incident in which Kenmare Resources deputy chairman Donal Kinsella appeared naked in the bedroom of the female company secretary during a visit to Mozambique culminated yesterday in his removal from the board. Arthur Beesley, Senior Business Correspondent, reports.
Kenmare chairman Charles Carvill told an egm in Dublin that he and other directors had asked Mr Kinsella to stand down from the board "in an attempt to deal with this matter within a more discreet environment".
Mr Carvill said Kenmare moved against Mr Kinsella, who refused to resign voluntarily, in light of his legal action against Kenmare over his removal as chairman of its audit committee.
This was a result of the incident at the company's new titanium mine at Moma last May. Mr Kinsella says he was sleepwalking at the time, did nothing wrong, and says his position was upheld in an inquiry by solicitors O'Donnell Sweeney Eversheds.
Some 99.5 per cent of shareholders who voted endorsed his removal. Mr Kinsella sat at the top table before the vote was taken. In an address, he said the Kenmare press release which brought public attention to the matter "played havoc with my house".
The incident took place on the night of May 8th when Kenmare hosted dinner at the canteen block at Moma to celebrate the mine's opening. According to those present at the egm, Mr Kinsella said he drank beer at dinner. Others drank five bottles of Bushmills whiskey and someone else drank a quantity of wine, he said.
A Kenmare director for 20 years, Mr Kinsella does not wear pyjamas and slept naked after dinner in the accommodation block nearby. Without dressing, he left his own room some time after 2am and went three times to the room of company secretary Deirdre Corcoran in the course of the next three hours.
Mr Carvill said in prepared remarks that he was not seeking Mr Kinsella's removal from the board over the incident, but because of his legal action, and "strongly disputed" allegations he made. "As a result of Mr Kin-sella's actions subsequent to his removal as chairman of the audit committee, Mr Kinsella's relationship with his fellow directors has unfortunately deteriorated to the point that his fellow directors believe Mr Kinsella's continued participation as a director of the company is untenable and compromises the board's ability to act as a unitary body."
Mr Kinsella said in a statement that yesterday was a "sad day" for him. He cited the solicitor's report, which said: "I found that Donal Kinsella was sleepwalking that night and that he did not consciously or deliberately attempt to enter Deirdre Corcoran's room. It follows that I find that Donal Kinsella did not have an improper motive in opening Deirdre Corcoran's door."
Mr Kinsella said his removal was being sought because of his financial independence and unwillingness to think like Mr Carvill and his son Michael, Kenmare's managing director, and director Peter McAleer.
"My insistence on standing aloof from their consensus ethos marked me out as unattractive," he said.
He also said: "There was no need for the company to issue a press release on what was routine company business . . . My family, having come to terms with its imputation, were subjected to the ridicule generated on an international scale by the continuing promotion of the 'Moma incident' by Kenmare . . . for weeks on end."
