What is happening in the sugar industry are turf wars among the mafia. All sugar in the country comes from one source, but the market is flooded.
The traders were granted licenses at a time when a few individuals had already been allowed to import massive sugar
in order to cover up. There were people in high places who opened up the market to more importers. They knew the sugar they had imported could not find a market.
The importers are now blaming each other for bringing in contaminated sugar. They want to find a market for themselves. This is just mafia fighting it out. When two crooked wild elephants fight the ordinary Kenyan suffers.
Just as they are doing with riparian land, the government should arrest all the importers. We see a massive conspiracy that involves the National Treasury. Kenyans want good, competent and proper investigations done.
The cartels are fighting among themselves to create a market.
They want to recover what they have spent to import sugar.
We don’t have political goodwill to fight the cartels.
The importers are the same people who enjoy special favours in government. They are powerful and sit within the government in policy making organs.
The joint parliamentary committee was hoping to expose the cartels but a number of the MPs were compromised. It is a clear case of corruption fighting back.
Right now the top suspects are following the sugar discussions scot-free. They might be playing golf or hiding somewhere on a holiday trip.
We have sufficient laws to tame sugar cartels. All the laws are in place. We don’t need a new Act. For now, we lack goodwill in high places to enforce the laws. The upper echelons are involved in all these corrupt malpractices.
President Uhuru Kenyatta needs to have one agenda instead of the Big Four and Kenyans will remember him forever. He has to stop corruption. He also must ensure the law is enforced. The government knows all these criminals.
Human rights lawyer Gitobu spoke to the Star
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