Kishushe Ranch has ushered in a new era of stability after years of internal wrangles, with a fresh leadership team taking over and pledging to revive stalled investment projects at the 60,000-acre cooperative in Taita Taveta County.
This followed after the Kishushe Ranch Cooperative Society Ltd on Wednesday handed over control to a new committee chaired by Matilda Waleghwa in a peaceful ceremony held in Voi, marking the first smooth transition in the cooperative’s turbulent history.
Outgoing chairman Chombo Shete transferred key documents including the title deed, seal and account details to the new officials without resistance.
Waleghwa announced that investors earlier approved by members could now begin work at the mineral-rich ranch, signaling renewed optimism for a cooperative long crippled by leadership disputes that derailed major projects, including a multi-billion-shilling steel plant by Devki Group.
“Immediately after the handing over, all the investors who reached out to members and were allowed to work in the Kishushe Ranch Cooperative Society Ltd are free to start working there,” she said, adding that two investors had already received member approval to commence operations.
She urged members and investors to uphold transparency and avoid the mistakes that once dragged the cooperative into court battles.
“The investor will have to respect the law and whatever they will have agreed with the shareholders or the Kishushe Ranch Cooperative Society. Please, we don’t want issues of push and pull and we also don’t want issues of taking one another to courts,” she cautioned.
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Kishushe Ranch has for years been the center of investment disputes, notably involving mining company Samruddha Resources Kenya Limited. The prolonged leadership divisions also affected other ventures within the cooperative.
Waleghwa revealed that a once-thriving hotel on the ranch had shut down due to political interference in its leadership and called on investors to revive it.
“Apart from minerals, there was a hotel which was doing very well and which was later affected by political issues in the leadership of the ranch that made it stop working,” she said, inviting investors to take advantage of the new environment provided they follow cooperative laws.
New secretary Wilfred Mwalimo described the event as historic, noting that it was the first time a handover had taken place without tension between outgoing and incoming teams.
“For the investors who had been approved during the AGM, they should come and start working so that the Taita Taveta community can start to benefit,” he said.
He assured that future investor engagement would be transparent and member-driven.
“As a committee, we shall work according to our mandates but the person with the final say is the member of the Kishushe Ranch Cooperative Ltd who will accept investors depending on the agreement,” Mwalimo stated.
Despite its vast mineral wealth, the ranch’s operations have long been hampered by conflicting agreements and leadership instability that discouraged potential investors.
Outgoing chairman Shete thanked members for their support and pledged to back the new leadership.
“Now we have a new team that has been elected and we support them going forward,” he said.
Taita Taveta County Executive for Agriculture and Cooperative Societies Dawson Katuu lauded the smooth transition and pledged county government support.
“Our main aim as a county is to provide a conducive environment that will attract investors. We shall then sit down with them to make sure that every person gets what is rightfully theirs,” he said.
His counterpart, County Executive for Lands, Physical Planning, Urban Development and Mining Christine Mwashighadi, said her department was ready to guide the cooperative on land-use planning and investment zoning to give clarity to potential investors.
To strengthen productivity, Waleghwa said that the new team plans to expand livestock numbers and implement irrigation projects using the ranch’s water resources.
She emphasized that transparency and member approval would guide all investor engagements.
The peaceful handover has rekindled optimism among shareholders who have watched the ranch’s potential remain untapped for years. County officials and members expressed hope that unity between the cooperative, its investors, and the government would finally unlock Kishushe Ranch’s economic potential and spur growth across Taita Taveta County and beyond.
By Michael Oduor
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