Sugarcane farmers in Mumias are accusing the Sarrai Group of vandalizing factory equipment in Mumias Sugar company and replacing them with substandard ones.
Speaking in Mumias, Kakamega County, the farmers called on President William Ruto to speed up his reforms agenda to revive the troubled miller.
“There is a lot of injustice going on at the factory now and it is good to tell the President the truth about what is going on here,” Anne Wekomba, a farmer, said.
Hezron Barasa, another farmer, said he expected the President to speed up Mumias' revival process as he did with the Port of Mombasa.
“We expected the President to do it as he did with the Port of Mombasa. We are here to request the President, please come to our rescue. Get us an investor as soon as possible,” Barasa said.
On December 8, 2022, while in Kakamega County, President Ruto promised to get a new investor to revive the sugar miller.
"The government will clear all outstanding debts of the miller and bring in a new investor under an agreement that he will be remitting Sh100 million monthly to the County Government of Kakamega to improve on standards of education, health and improve the road network," Ruto said.
The President said the factory had consumed a lot of government money and it was time to make it profitable.
"Mumias Sugar Company, for example, has consumed a lot of funding from the National Treasury yet nothing is improving. It is not benefiting the locals who donated over 15,000 acres of their land or the county government. I will meet with leaders from this region to come up with a lasting solution," he said.
Last week, trailers were photographed carrying what appeared to be heavy factory equipment out of Mumias sugar factory.
Sources at the factory confirmed that two trailers carted away factory equipment to an unknown location.
The equipment transported away from the factory which can be seen in the photographs is heavy-duty rollers used as shredders to cut sugar cane into small pieces.
Other image show heaters used to heat the cane juice during the manufacturing process.
The Sarrai Group has been facing numerous court battles over the controversial lease tender it won.
The firm is said to have won the tender despite being one of the lowest bidders.
