Ex-LSK chief wants tea growing farms handed back to residents

A farmer picking tea. Former Law Society of Kenya Rift Valley chairman Kipkoech Ng’etich has threatened to go to court to ensure residents of tea growing areas are given priority in bidding for farms run by multinational tea firms when the leases expire. PHOTO | FILE

What you need to know:

  • The Nakuru-based advocate, a resident of Bureti in Kericho County, said indigenous people in counties like Kericho, Bomet and Narok were not given a say on how the hundreds of thousands of acres should be used.
  • It is believed that some leases will expire before the end of the year and that influential politicians and tea firms are eyeing the land.

Former Law Society of Kenya Rift Valley chairman Kipkoech Ng’etich has threatened to go to court to ensure residents of tea growing areas are given priority in bidding for farms run by multinational tea firms when the leases expire.

The Nakuru-based advocate, a resident of Bureti in Kericho County, said indigenous people in counties like Kericho, Bomet and Narok were not given a say on how the hundreds of thousands of acres should be used.

“They have a right to say how the land, taken away from them by white settlers, should be used. The land must be returned to them when the leases expire,” he said in Kericho Wednesday.

It is believed that some leases will expire before the end of the year and that influential politicians and tea firms are eyeing the land.

TAKEOVER BY COUNTIES

At the same time, Mr Ng’etich urged counties to pass laws that would enable the full devolution of the agriculture.

He criticised poor management of the tea industry and called for its takeover by counties. “I urge MCAs to put in place legislation that will bring regulation and control of the industry closer home so that farmers are able to reap maximum benefits from the crop,” he said.