- Njeru dismisses Ksh322.5m payment claims as divisive allegations.
- DCI probe underway over the disputed fertiliser payment.
- KTDA expects farmers’ fertiliser consignment early next month
KTDA Chairman Enos Njeru has urged tea farmers and directors to stay united and ignore allegations circulating on social media platforms this week.
Njeru spoke on Friday during the closure of a three-day Culture Change Training Programme for the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) Holdings Board and factory chairpersons, held in Naivasha. Directors and smallholder factory chairpersons attending the forum focused heavily on allegations concerning a Ksh 322.5 million payment made to a fertiliser supplier.
Addressing stakeholders, Njeru dismissed the reports as an attempt to sow disunity and affirmed the organisation’s commitment to protecting farmers’ interests. Disagreements, allegations or external pressure should not be allowed to divide farmers, directors, management and other stakeholders, or distract them from improving farmer welfare, he said.
“This week, there have been several reports circulating on social media platforms and in sections of the print media concerning alleged irregular or illegal payments to one of our fertiliser suppliers amounting to approximately Ksh 322.5 million, as well as other allegations relating to the affairs and operations of the KTDA,” Njeru said.
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Claims were raised by Kiru Tea Factory Chairman Chege Kirundi and a KTDA Holding director concerning the Ksh 322.5 million payment to Oriole Homes Ltd, a contractor engaged to import fertiliser. Njeru confirmed the matter was under investigation by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
“We respect the investigative process and shall allow the competent authorities to complete their work, establish the facts and issue their findings,” he said.
Njeru added that KTDA has a fiduciary duty to the farmers it represents and all decisions must be guided by the interests, welfare and sustainability of the Kenyan tea farmer.
Njeru warned that no individual or group’s interests should be allowed to supersede those of the 700,000 tea farmers whose livelihoods depend on the industry.
“Any attempt to divide farmers, weaken their institutions or undermine the systems through which they collectively manage their tea business must be examined carefully,” he said.
Shareholders should remain vigilant and united, he added, stressing that KTDA belongs to the tea farmers and that leadership would act within the law and through proper governance structures to protect their interests and investments.
Officials at the forum were informed that the much-anticipated smallholder tea farmers’ fertiliser consignment will arrive early next month.
“The timely delivery will ensure our farmers are well-prepared to boost productivity for the upcoming season,” Njeru said.
By our respondent
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