The deputy president, Rigathi Gachagua, thinks the strong cartels in the coffee industry poisoned Nderitu Gachagua, his late brother, and the former governor of Nyeri.
Gachagua claims that his brother was in good condition up until he suddenly became ill and passed away on February 24, 2017.
Nderitu went away while receiving treatment for pancreatic cancer at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London.
In an interview with Inooro TV, Gachagua stated, “Our family believes and we know that those people poisoned the late Nderitu Gachagua.”
“Since then, a very healthy person started getting sick, and we think that these people hurt him,” the statement said.
The DP, who is in charge of overseeing changes, presided over a two-day national conference on coffee and pledged to dismantle cartels he said had entered the industry and were continuing to profit from advantages intended for farmers.
It was decided to reinstate the Coffee Board of Kenya as envisaged in the Coffee Bill 2023 at the conference held in Meru that brought together leaders and other stakeholders from throughout the nation.
The recommendations include building coffee aggregation facilities to raise coffee quality and empowering the Pest Control Board to control pesticides and battle coffee illnesses. A select team will examine these proposals before implementing them over the following 90 days.
The DP highlighted how dangerous cartels are by claiming that the governors were purposefully left out of the process and that three cabinet secretaries—Mithika Linturi for agriculture, Moses Kuria for trade, and Simon Chelugui for cooperatives—were chosen in their place.
He said that the president and the deputy are the only ones who can win this fight since the governors are dangerous and even capable of killing.
“Because I have greater resources, including security, and because they are not nice individuals, the President gave me the duty of directing these people.”