Raila fired me because I cancelled sugar barons’ licences, claims Ruto

The war of words between government and opposition leaders got dirtier on Tuesday, with the two groups trading allegations of corruption in the management of the sugar industry.

Jubilee MPs dubbed Cord leader Raila Odinga the “lord of poverty” in retaliation for his description of Deputy President William Ruto as the “high priest of corruption in Kenya”.

While the accusations had little to do with the plight of sugar farmers, they nevertheless revealed the extent to which politicians suspected one another of being in bed with the rich traders described as “sugar barons”.

Yesterday, the Deputy President claimed on Twitter that Mr Odinga sacked him at the behest of sugar barons after Mr Ruto, then Agriculture minister, cancelled the traders’ licences in 2008.

Yesterday, 30 Jubilee MPs trained their guns on Mr Odinga, whom they called the “lord of poverty”.

Seven ODM members of Parliament immediately shot back, claiming that the “high priest of corruption” was well known and accused the Jubilee MPs of insulting Mr Odinga.

In point of fact, the current dispute has little to do with sugar farmers and a lot to do with the fight for votes in western Kenya.

The biggest source of sugar for the Kenyan market in the region is Zambia, and Uganda, as a member of the East African Common Market, does not need a separate trade deal to export sugar to Kenya.

DANGER TO INDUSTRY

Experts agree that corrupt imports of cheap sugar are a danger to the industry, but so are the high costs of growing and crushing Kenyan cane as well as inefficient management of factories.

On Tuesday, Jubilee MPs said in a statement read by Majority Leader Aden Duale: “All Cord and its leader, Raila have done is to point fingers, cast blame, misinform and compound the despondency already weighing down the sugar growing community.”

They accused Mr Odinga of owing poor farmers hundreds of millions of shillings in a commercial loan.

The Jubilee leaders defended Mr Ruto's track record when he was Agriculture minister in the Grand Coalition government, producing a gazette notice in which the Deputy President reportedly de-gazetted 16 firms found to have dumped cheap sugar from non-Comesa countries in the country.

Mr Duale said that after the move, payment for sugarcane farmers shot up from Sh2,500 to Sh3,800 a tonne and only went down after Mr Ruto was sacked.

The Garissa Township MP criticised Mr Odinga’s decision to sack Mr Ruto, claiming it was because he felt that Mr Ruto's disbanding of rogue sugar-importing cartels threatened the monopoly and liquidity of sugar barons and that affected the former Prime Minister’s personal interests.

At the same time, Mr Ruto had taken to Twitter to tell off Mr Odinga.

“Sugar cartels used PM’s office to orchestrate my removal because Gazette notice 3977 I signed cancelled their licences ending their schemes,” he said.

EXPLANATION FROM ODINGA

Mr Ruto also challenged Mr Odinga to tell the people of western Kenya during the public rallies he will hold in the region starting Friday how a company linked to him will pay a debt of millions of shillings it allegedly owes Mumias Sugar Company.

“While in western (essentially meeting with creditors) aside from rhetoric, I hope Cord presents a credible repayment plan of admitted debts,” Mr Ruto said.

He went on: “Now that my friend Tinga (Raila) admits owing peasant cane farmers millions can he explain why he didn’t take this “commercial loan” from a bank?”

At the press conference, the Jubilee MPs also questioned Mr Odinga’s debt, especially after the Cord leader admitted in public that he owed a commercial loan to several sugar factories.

“Under what circumstances did Mr Odinga and companies associated with him contract a debt of such magnitude with poor innocent farmers?” the MPs asked and demanded that the Cord leader make full disclosure of how much he owes Chemilil, Nzoia, Muhoroni, South Nyanza and other millers.

LAND GRABBING

Mumias East MP Benjamin Washiali said the government had given more than Sh1.6 billion to revive the sugar industry, saying its intentions were good.

The Jubilee MPs challenged the ODM leader to state “what he had done to rescue the ailing sugar sector”.

The ODM legislators, led by party chairman and Suba MP John Mbadi, in their rejoinder, said it was well known who was behind scandals such as the sale of fake land to the Kenya Pipeline Company, the grabbing of an innocent farmer’s land in Eldoret, the Weston Hotel land and the Karen land saga and the licensing of importers of cheap sugar.

In the meantime, cane farmers yesterday called for a ban on sugar imports, saying the country had enough sugar.

Kenya National Federation of Sugarcane Farmers Deputy Secretary-General Simon Wesechere said the government relied on faulty statistics to declare a shortage when none actually existed.

Mr Wesechere argued that opening the gates to Ugandan sugar is not a guarantee that sugar from non-Comesa countries such as Brazil, Panama, India and South Africa would not find its way into the country.

Anglican Church Mumias Diocese Bishop Beneah Salala said the controversial deal might have something to do with the next elections.

“The President could be out to mobilise funds that will help him mount a serious campaign for a second term in office,” said the cleric.

Additional reporting by John Shilitsa