Governor pushes for ownership of tea estates by residents

Eunice Mwanza picks tea at Unilever Tea Estate in Kericho County on March 9, 2016. Operations at James Finlay Tea (Kenya) Ltd and James Finlay Flowers Ltd have been restored to normalcy after a nearly 10-day strike. PHOTO | TONNY OMONDI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Unilever Tea Kenya Ltd is staring at numerous losses after more than 20,000 workers downed tools to demand pay rise awarded to them.
  • Governor Chepkwony has also said the county administration has finalised plans to file a landmark case against the British Government for crimes committed against the Talai and Kipsigis communities during the colonial era.

Kericho Governor Paul Chepkwony has called on multinational tea firms operating in the county to sell shares to locals living around the estates to improve their lives.

Speaking during the funeral of Robert Rotich, son to prominent Kericho businessman Nehemiah Suge at Chepsir Village in Kipkelion East Constituency, Prof Chepkwony said the same idea had been successfully adopted in India.

He said the step would go a long way in ameliorating their economic status.

“In India, shares of huge tea firms were sold to the local Indian population and it is because of that programme that many poor native Indians, who did not have any land during the colonial era under Britain, came to own land previously owned by the colonial masters,” he said.

He added that he would strive to ensure communities own a stake in the export industry by pushing for them to take over control of the firms when the leases of the multinational companies expire.

In the six sub-counties, only Kipkelion West does not have tea plantations while the other five – Kipkelion East, Belgut, Ainamoi, Sigowet/Soin and Bureti – rely heavily on the cash crop.

“We would like the local residents to slowly begin owning the companies and take over the management of the firms when the land leases expire,” he added.

The county chief's move comes at a time when the tea firms have been troubled following court orders to increase salaries for their tea pickers by 30 per cent, which have led to the workers going on strike after the companies said they were unable to do so.

Unilever Tea Kenya Ltd is staring at numerous losses after more than 20,000 workers downed tools to demand pay rise awarded to them.

The strike has been going on for two weeks and the county government has called on the company to hold talks with the workers' union, Kenya Plantations and Agricultural Workers Union (KPAWU).

Meanwhile, operations at James Finlay Tea (Kenya) Ltd and James Finlay Flowers Ltd have been restored to normalcy after a nearly 10-day strike.

This is after KPAWU and the companies management reached an agreement to implement a 15 per cent pay increment, with a second round of talks organised to discuss implementation of the remaining amount.

Governor Chepkwony has also said the county administration has finalised plans to file a landmark case against the British Government for crimes committed against the Talai and Kipsigis communities during the colonial era.

The case, which is expected to be filed in London anytime next month, was given a major boost this year when members of the Kericho County Assembly set aside Sh40 million in the 2016/2017 financial year to pursue the matter.

“I would like to thank the County Assembly for appropriating money that will enable us file the case at the London High Court. We are confident that the court will find reason to agree with us that the rights of the two communities were infringed upon,” he said.

The case will be handled on behalf of the county government by Queen’s Counsel Karim Khan and international Nairobi-based lawyer Joel Bosek.

In an interview in the county earlier, Mr Bosek said he and his team of lawyers have registered more than 116,000 victims who experienced the alleged brutality, which saw masses kicked out of their ancestral land to pave way for tea farming in large scale.

Editing by Philip Momanyi