Bungoma governor Kenneth Lusaka speaking during a prayer breakfast at Holygate of Heaven Church in Bungoma Town/HANDOUT
Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka has issued a scathing rebuke of Democratic Action Party-Kenya (DAP-K) leader Eugene Wamalwa and Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya over the leasing of Nzoia Sugar Company.
Lusaka accused the two of politicising the leasing of the struggling miller and inciting unrest in the region.
Speaking during a prayer breakfast at Holygate of Heaven Church in Bungoma, Lusaka defended the government’s decision to lease the ailing sugar mill to a strategic investor, saying the move is crucial for the revival of the factory and the well-being of sugarcane farmers and workers who have gone unpaid for months.
“Don’t light fires in my house to warm your cold politics,” Lusaka warned. “We’ve watched Nzoia rot under political games and poor management. Now that the government wants to breathe life back into the factory, some are using it for political mileage.”
Lusaka accused his opponents of misleading the public and failing to provide any viable alternative solutions to the factory’s woes.
He questioned their silence during years of financial mismanagement, machinery breakdowns, and farmer neglect.
“Where were they when workers went without pay? When farmers’ cane dried in the fields? It’s disingenuous to pretend to care now just because elections are around the corner,” said Lusaka, in apparent reference to the 2027 general elections.
The governor called on residents to question the motives behind recent protests against the leasing process, warning against political manipulation and empty populism.
He reassured farmers and factory workers that the government is committed to clearing pending salary arrears and ensuring that the leasing process leads to long-term recovery.
The heated row over Nzoia Sugar escalated earlier in the week when Wamalwa, Natembeya, and several other leaders—including Kabuchai MP Majimbo Kalasinga, former Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala, and gubernatorial aspirant Zachariah Barasa—attempted to march to the factory to oppose the installation of new management.
The procession was blocked by armed police at Bukembe. Officers fired teargas to disperse the crowd, forcing the leaders to retreat and voice their frustrations on social media.
Natembeya condemned the leasing arrangement, arguing that it risks destabilizing a vital economic lifeline for over 45,000 sugarcane farmers and millions of residents who rely on the factory for their livelihoods.
“We must get to the bottom of this for the sake of our people. The smell of tear gas is necessary in the quest for freedom,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter), vowing to continue resisting the move.
Wamalwa also took to X to criticise the government’s actions, saying, “If a government does not respect court orders and forcefully hands over public assets like Nzoia Sugar Company against the wishes of the people, what does it expect the citizens to do?”
