- Sigei seeks answers on New KCC privatisation plans and unpaid Sotik plant dues.
- He wants protection for farmers, workers and public assets.
- New KCC is among firms targeted under the revised privatisation framework.
Sotik MP Francis Sigei has asked Parliament to explain plans to shift the New Kenya Cooperative Creameries (New KCC) from state ownership to private management, citing unpaid dues at the company’s Sotik plant.
Sigei raised the matter before the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock on September 12, 2026, seeking a formal statement on the dairy processor’s future. He warned that a poorly managed transition could hurt farmers, employees and other stakeholders linked to the plant.
The MP argued that the Sotik plant has long anchored the local dairy economy, giving farmers a steady market for their milk and supporting hundreds of households that depend on the sector for their livelihoods.
The lawmaker wants the committee to clarify who currently owns and runs the Sotik plant, and to disclose any timelines or procedures for moving the company into private hands.
Sigei said news of the planned transition had stirred anxiety among farmers, workers, suppliers and service providers, some of whom have reportedly gone unpaid. He raised particular concern that statutory deductions at the plant had allegedly not been remitted since June.
His demands extend further. Sigei wants the committee to explain the reasoning behind the proposed ownership change, detail any public participation held with dairy farmers, cooperatives, employees, suppliers and consumers, and order a full audit of all debts and liabilities tied to the Sotik facility, including money owed to farmers, cooperatives, suppliers and other creditors. He further wants arrangements made to settle or offset these debts before or during any transition.
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He also wants guarantees protecting public assets at the plant, such as land, buildings, machinery and equipment, from loss or improper disposal during any transition, along with clarity on how New KCC would be regulated and overseen under private management.
The privatisation debate has resurfaced after a legal hurdle that stalled the process for two years was cleared. The High Court had declared the Privatisation Act 2023 unconstitutional in September 2024 over inadequate public participation, a decision the Court of Appeal upheld in April 2025.
Parliament responded with the Privatisation Act 2025, which took effect in November 2025. On February 19, 2026, the High Court dismissed several constitutional petitions against the new law and declared it valid, a ruling widely described as a major win for President William Ruto’s administration that cleared the path for the sale of key state firms, including Kenya Pipeline Company.
However, the 2025 Act is a framework law that does not by itself list companies for sale; entities are designated through a Cabinet-approved privatisation programme that must be ratified by the National Assembly. Treasury and media listings under the revised framework have named New KCC alongside other state firms including Kenya Pipeline Company, the Kenyatta International Convention Centre and Kenya Seed Company.
By Benedict Aoya
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