A row is brewing between tea farmers, the Tea Board of Kenya, Kenya Tea Development Agency and some of its former directors over a scheme to pay hundreds of millions to lawyers and their firms.
About 14 lawyers from different law firms represented KTDA Holdings, KTDA Management Services limited and Kenya Tea Growers association in two suits, where parties involved have reached an agreement.
In one of the suits—Nairobi High Court Consolidated Constitutional Petition No E254 of 2020—KTDA Holdings Limited and 55 others had sued Agriculture Cabinet Secretary and 26 others demanding review of the Tea Act 2020.
In the second matter—Nairobi High Court Consolidated Constitutional Petition No E016 of 2021—the Kenya Tea Growers Association and 55 others had sued the Attorney General and 24 others.
On April 2, 2024, TBK chairman Jacob Kahiu convened a mediation meeting between the parties which was attended by the advocates and came up with a mediation settlement agreement.
The parties agreed to withdraw all Court of Appeal proceedings arising from the High Court consolidated petitions. Also withdrawn are outstanding or pending applications, including the contempt of court applications.
A section of the agreement indicates that KTDA Holdings Limited, KTDA Management Service Limited and the Smallholder Tea Factories Companies managed by KTDA shall pay their lawyers appointed at various times.
This however has raised eyebrows and triggered protests from tea farmers and their leaders who claim they have at no point sought or sanctioned representation by the lawyers in any matter.
Speaking at a farmers' meeting at Munyu-ini village in Gatundu South, Kiambu county on Wednesday, the farmers said they will not shoulder the costs of services they didn’t approve.
They said that decision to solicit legal representation was made by some former directors of KTDA and hence they should pay them.
Led by Gatundu South MP Gabriel Kagombe who's also a director at Theta and Ndarugu tea factories, they claimed there's a scheme by some individuals to pocket hundreds of millions, which is farmers' hard earned money.
"They did well by agreeing to end the cases that have been dragging us behind. However, we won't allow them to burden poor farmers with the cost of paying the lawyers. Whoever gave the lawyers instructions to represent them are the ones who will pay," Kagombe said.
The MP threatened to take legal action against TBK boss Kahiu and the CEO Willy Mutai as well as KTDA Board and chairman Enos Njeru should they use farmers' earnings to pay the lawyers.
"We are putting them on notice that if you pay that money, you will end up in jail," he said.
He said farmers work hard in their farms and that it will be an injustice to exploit them by burdening them with unjustified costs.
Farmers led by Joseph Ng'ang'a said they were never consulted before the KTDA management decided to hire the lawyers, adding that using their little earnings to pay a few individuals hefty amounts of money is an injustice to them.
Ng'ang'a said some individuals holding high offices in the tea management have hatched a plan to dip their hands in the farmers' basket which he said will eat into their earnings and further impoverish them.
Similar sentiments were echoed by farmer Nancy Wanjiru who pleaded with President William Ruto to intervene and cushion the poor but hardworking farmers from exploitation.
