Mutahi Kagwe, the Agriculture and Livestock Cabinet Secretary, has warned tea factories that they'll lose their licenses if caught hawking green leaf. He stated the government wouldn't stand for anything that hurts the tea industry or farmers' earnings. At a big meeting in Nairobi's Kilimo House, Kagwe announced the Ministry would take strong action against rule-breakers. He said factories that hawk green leaf break quality standards and steal what rightfully belongs to farmers.
This warning came after problems between Kapkoros Tea Factory PLC in Bomet County and its smaller factories—Motigo, Tirgaga, and Olenguruone. The situation almost destroyed progress for tea farmers across Bomet and Nakuru counties. Farmers at Motigo and Olenguruone stopped picking and delivering tea for a week because they were angry that the main factory was still controlling their money and operations. This protest caused thousands of kilos of tea leaves to rot and go to waste.
These farmers have wanted to break free for ages. They voted for separation and independence from Kapkoro back in December 2023. They confirmed this again at their yearly meeting last December and at another meeting this January. Despite everyone agreeing multiple times, nothing changed, which pushed farmers to protest.
The Nairobi meeting gathered important people from all sides to fix things. Dr. Kipronoh Ronoh from Agriculture, Kenya Tea Development Agency, Tea Board CEO Willy Mutai, Senator Hilary Sigei, and board members from all factories attended. Everyone surprisingly agreed to listen to what farmers wanted and approved ten solutions to restore peace and make the factories more productive.
Farmers mainly wanted Motigo and Olenguruone to operate and manage their money separately from Kapkoros right away, which everyone agreed to. They decided farmers should start picking tea again immediately. The process of giving farmers smart cards to track their tea and payments will continue as planned. Kapkoros must hold a special meeting within 21 days to officially handle the separation and make sure everything happens fairly and openly.
Both sides agreed to stop fighting and drop their court cases. The Kapkoros Group will help build a new factory at Kamogoso under an agreement everyone accepts, and the government will provide money to update the older factories. The board must also find ways to cut costs and improve tea quality across all four factories quickly.
This warning came after problems between Kapkoros Tea Factory PLC in Bomet County and its smaller factories—Motigo, Tirgaga, and Olenguruone. The situation almost destroyed progress for tea farmers across Bomet and Nakuru counties. Farmers at Motigo and Olenguruone stopped picking and delivering tea for a week because they were angry that the main factory was still controlling their money and operations. This protest caused thousands of kilos of tea leaves to rot and go to waste.
These farmers have wanted to break free for ages. They voted for separation and independence from Kapkoro back in December 2023. They confirmed this again at their yearly meeting last December and at another meeting this January. Despite everyone agreeing multiple times, nothing changed, which pushed farmers to protest.
The Nairobi meeting gathered important people from all sides to fix things. Dr. Kipronoh Ronoh from Agriculture, Kenya Tea Development Agency, Tea Board CEO Willy Mutai, Senator Hilary Sigei, and board members from all factories attended. Everyone surprisingly agreed to listen to what farmers wanted and approved ten solutions to restore peace and make the factories more productive.
Farmers mainly wanted Motigo and Olenguruone to operate and manage their money separately from Kapkoros right away, which everyone agreed to. They decided farmers should start picking tea again immediately. The process of giving farmers smart cards to track their tea and payments will continue as planned. Kapkoros must hold a special meeting within 21 days to officially handle the separation and make sure everything happens fairly and openly.
Both sides agreed to stop fighting and drop their court cases. The Kapkoros Group will help build a new factory at Kamogoso under an agreement everyone accepts, and the government will provide money to update the older factories. The board must also find ways to cut costs and improve tea quality across all four factories quickly.
