- Four Rift Valley tea factories face possible management changes and prosecution over poor performance.
- The government has issued corrective targets and deadlines to improve efficiency and increase farmers’ earnings.
- Officials warn that corruption and mismanagement will attract criminal proceedings as scrutiny of factory operations intensifies.
Four tea factories in the western Rift Valley face possible management changes and prosecution if they fail to correct poor performance.
Agriculture Principal Secretary (PS) Kiprono Rono delivered the warning after a review meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture on October 13, 2026. Managers and directors from Kapkoros, Chebut, Litein and Mogogosiek factories attended. Kenya Tea Development Agency Chairman Enos Njeru and Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) Chief Executive Willy Mutai were also present, together with other industry stakeholders. The meeting set out to explain how the factories were running operations and why farmers were taking home less than expected.
Each factory was assessed on its own. Afterwards, officials handed every one of them specific instructions and deadlines. Failure to meet those targets, Rono said, would trigger further action.
He explained that the government would work with farmers through TBK to change management where necessary. The aim is to make factories more efficient and put more money in growers’ pockets. Anyone found to have engaged in corruption or mismanagement, he added, would face criminal proceedings.
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The move reflects mounting unease over how factories are run. Farmers’ earnings depend largely on what remains after processing and marketing costs are paid. Fuel, salaries and administrative spending all eat into that pool. Excess spending or sloppy management therefore leaves growers with less.
For that reason, the corrective measures focus on three areas: operational efficiency, lower spending and tighter accountability over resources. Rono said the government’s priority was to protect farmers and ensure factories account for what is entrusted to them.
In addition, the ministry ordered that the Setet project supporting Litein factory be expedited, in a bid to ease its operational difficulties.
Even so, key details remain unclear. Officials did not say what specific failings were found at each factory. They also withheld the performance targets set for managers and the deadlines attached to them. Moreover, no management changes were announced immediately. For now, the future of the officials rests on whether they deliver improvements and on the outcome of any investigations.
Should the factories miss their targets, TBK will work with farmers to decide what management changes are needed.
By Benedict Aoya
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