High yields depend on fertilizer subsidies. In 2024, tea farmers received 98,000 metric tons at a cost to farmers of KSh 2,500 per 50 kg bag that normally sells for Ksh 6,500 without subsidies.
Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is interviewing Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) officials about alleged financial mismanagement and possible embezzlement of 600 million Kenya shillings *($4.7 million) that was first revealed in 2021.
A Statehouse meeting in the first week of September called by President William Ruto and attended by the newly elected slate of KTDA directors prompted Kenya’s DCI Economic Crimes Unit to summon Dr. John Kennedy Omanga, a former company secretary at KTDA along with three other officials including former CEO Lerionka Tiampati, finance director Simeon Rugutt and general manager Lincoln Munyao. DCI is seeking previously undisclosed documents dating to a 2021 investigation conducted during the administration of former president Uhuru Kenyatta. Omanga was fired by KTDA in July 2021.
Financial irregularities were documented in a confidential 130-page report compiled by forensic auditors from the Attorney General’s Office, the National Intelligence Service, and the Asset Recovery Agency. Wilson Njenga, a former senior official at the president's office, and Arthur Osiya jointly chaired the working group and presented the report to then-Attorney General Paul Kihara Kariuki on July 9, 2021.
The report revealed a discrepancy in cash that should have been distributed to farmers based on sales by KTDA’s 54 factories. KTDA engaged in money-losing real estate deals and paid outside lawyers KSh 101 million for work that could have been done by in-house lawyers. The audit report also revealed that a potential Ksh 3 billion remained in accounts at two commercial banks. No charges were brought in the case.
Enos Njeru, the newly appointed KTDA chairman, told The Nation he hopes to recover millions of shillings lost before he assumes office for a second term.
“As a board we want farmers to get back their money,” said Njeru.
The Nation reported that Omanga denied any role in losing the cash. “I was not in any way involved in any cash transactions while there,” Omanga told reporters.
Tea reforms enacted in 2020 remain controversial. The courts struck down the provisions of the Tea Act of 2020 prohibiting direct sales. The Tea Board of Kenya recently opened a Direct Sales Office (DSO) and is working with legislators to remove from the Tea Act the requirement that factories sell all their tea at auction. Factory-level DSOs and specialty growers would be empowered to seek buyers independently of the Mombasa Tea Auction.
President Ruto and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said they are committed to sharing a greater percentage of proceeds with farmers while insisting that farmers improve leaf quality even if that means lower yields. The government is also financing a common user facility in Nairobi for the tea supply chain to add value by blending, flavoring, packaging, and marketing tea.
During the opening ceremonies of the four-day induction of more than 300 newly elected KTDA directors representing 24 counties, Njeru said, “Farmers who concentrate on quality rather than quantity are enjoying the results of the sales of their products.”
“This will not only reduce overstocking of the black CTC tea but also provide the market with diverse products to meet their different tastes and preferences,” he said.
*The precise sum at current exchange rates is $4,686,765 (Ksh=0.0078 USD)